Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $215,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 83 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,108.83.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $2,987.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,055.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,796.28. The stock has a market cap of $51.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.