Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,250 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $21,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co boosted its position in AutoZone by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowroot Family Office LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Roth Capital decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,526.00 to $4,023.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,478.00 to $3,979.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Guggenheim cut 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 report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,040.87.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,970.83 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,928.11 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,161.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,421.80.

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

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian Hannasch bought 165 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.