Bfsg LLC Buys Shares of 60 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 60 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $97.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $2,891.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 88,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,356. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,020.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,768.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.