Inspire Investing LLC Has $3.03 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 860.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 816 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% in the first quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 7,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,591,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $545,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 19.3% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,127,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,076.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4,149.74 and a 200-day moving average of $3,856.03. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 target price (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.