AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 219.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.14% of AutoZone worth $90,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,801.30 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The company has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,141.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,879.18.

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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $51.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.