AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Purchased by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,635,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 22.2% during the second quarter. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,083,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 141.5% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,801.30 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4,141.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,879.18. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,980.10 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40.

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

AutoZone declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

About AutoZone

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.