Sound Income Strategies LLC Acquires 39 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 78.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 target price (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $4,271.60 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4,090.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,826.15. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,980.10 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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.