AutoZone, Inc. $AZO is Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,326 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 2.2% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,076.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,149.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,856.03.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial cut 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 report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone 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.