Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $25.50 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,868 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $25,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 714.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone 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 directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents 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.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,801.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,980.10 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,141.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,876.96.

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

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Guggenheim increased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on 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, UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

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.