AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Acquired by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 837 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 3.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,709,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after purchasing an additional 239,970 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. This represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 over the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $4,850.00 target price on AutoZone in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,715.69 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,036.40 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The company has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,052.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,886.73.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.