Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,370 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $291,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,711,912,000 after acquiring an additional 26,544 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,724,000 after acquiring an additional 935,230 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,870,000 after acquiring an additional 11,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 444,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $981,202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $21,867,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 147 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, for a total transaction of $498,784.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,264,152.58. The trade was a 18.04% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,447 shares of company stock worth $34,179,923. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,650.00 to $4,526.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,700.00 to $4,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,318.38.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,612.86 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,210.72 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,644.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,809.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The business had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $28.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.