Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 918 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,406,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 9.8% during the second quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,152,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 25.1% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 2,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,837,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was 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 owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,400. This represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,715.69 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,036.40 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,052.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,885.07. The company has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.