Brighton Jones LLC Raises Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 141.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 30.0% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.5% in the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% in the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,821.31 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,137.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,881.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, 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.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $51.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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.