Howard Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Free Report) by 79,236.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 385,577 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 385,091 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 11.6% of Howard Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,091,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. NFSG Corp lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 108,550.0% during the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,796,000 after acquiring an additional 26,052 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42,984.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,537,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,821,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,513,156 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $317,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 4,332.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 111,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,831,000 after purchasing an additional 108,737 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,473,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.
AutoZone Stock Up 1.9%
Shares of AZO stock traded up $57.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,116.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 258,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,846. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,937.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,131.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,730.65 and a fifty-two week high of $4,040.00.
AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 90.08% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $48.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 171.50 earnings per share for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently commented on AZO. UBS Group set a $3,850.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $3,500.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,637.00 to $3,400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,150.00 to $3,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,669.12.
View Our Latest Analysis on AZO
Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone
In related news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total transaction of $4,510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 441 shares in the company, valued at $1,367,100. This represents a 76.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About AutoZone
AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.
In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.
Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.
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