Ascent Group LLC Has $1.24 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 14.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.4 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,192.44 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,126.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,041.13. The stock has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AZO. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,216.44.

AutoZone Company 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.