Sather Financial Group Inc Acquires 22 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,509 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up approximately 1.9% of Sather Financial Group Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sather Financial Group Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $29,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,107.53 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,112.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,024.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

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.