5,200 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Acquired by Freemont Management S.A.

Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,304,000. AutoZone comprises 2.9% of Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% during the first quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.5% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in AutoZone by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,715.69 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,036.40 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The firm 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4,052.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,883.62.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% 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 sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.