New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,506 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% in the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% in the second quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,194,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.5% in the second quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 58 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 20.3% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 7,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,551,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 36.1% in the second quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AZO. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were 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 is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,803.82 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4,130.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,882.27.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.