Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Purchases 23 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,803 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.06% of AutoZone worth $36,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 14.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 21.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $687,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 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 analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $4,031.84 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4,150.99 and a 200 day moving average of $3,865.08. The company has a market capitalization of $67.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.