Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 20.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 26 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 3.7% in the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $213,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 8.7% in the first quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 2.7% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 654 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,209,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,600.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,478.00 to $3,979.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $4,300.00 price objective (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Roth Capital cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,526.00 to $4,023.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,040.87.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO traded up $83.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3,041.53. The company had a trading volume of 76,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,990. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.33. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,928.11 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,248.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,444.13.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $35.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.51 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2,987.00 per share, with a total value of $492,855.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This trade represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.