Jackson Square Capital LLC Takes $206,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Jackson Square Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 54 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Argus cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,072.24.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,762 shares of company stock worth $147,189,762. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3%

AZO opened at $3,634.34 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,792.14 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,695.70 and a 200-day moving average of $3,506.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.