Harbour Investments Inc. Purchases 3 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 27.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday. One research 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,801.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4,141.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,874.36. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS 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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.