Simon Quick Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio raised its position in AutoZone by 39.8% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in AutoZone by 7.9% in the second quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 23.8% in the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 78 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in AutoZone by 7.0% in the second quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 16.5% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,786,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% 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 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,708.78 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $61.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4,113.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,881.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board 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.