Morningstar Investment Management LLC Takes $1.01 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,967,000 after acquiring an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,929,000 after acquiring an additional 239,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $4,094.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4,152.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,859.75. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.