AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Acquired by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $4,076.31 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,980.10 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $68.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,137.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,850.01.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,538.21.

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.