Harbour Investments Inc. Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 27.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 714.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the transaction, the vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,801.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4,141.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,874.36. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two 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 the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

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.