CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,940 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $14,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 132.7% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 59.5% during the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,703,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 price target (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,538.21.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.1%

AutoZone stock opened at $4,244.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,109.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,832.21.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.