Marco Investment Management LLC Increases Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,007 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.2% in 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 boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.6% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AZO. DA Davidson set a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 target price (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was 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 that occurred on 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 owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,715.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,036.40 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4,052.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,883.62.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $51.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About AutoZone

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.