Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,951 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,773 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.15% of AutoZone worth $96,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.2% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.5% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.2% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 3.6% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,400. This trade represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,751.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,034.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,888.64. The company has a market cap of $62.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,036.40 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $51.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board 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.