New York Life Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,506 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in AutoZone by 266.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Night Squared LP bought a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $2,860,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of 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, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone 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 sale, the vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,803.82 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market cap of $63.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,130.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,882.27.

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 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 company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.