National Pension Service Acquires 1,292 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,631 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.26% of AutoZone worth $161,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 3.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 26.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,400. This represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,791.94 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,026.36 and a 200 day moving average of $3,887.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,036.40 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. DA Davidson set a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, November 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.