State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 22 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $20,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 41,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 15.9% in the second quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in AutoZone by 0.9% in the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,833,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,990,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction 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 $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,801.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,141.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,876.96. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40.

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

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

About AutoZone

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.