AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Acquired by Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,485 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for about 3.8% of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $20,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,076.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,149.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,857.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone 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.