AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,355 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 554 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.24% of AutoZone worth $121,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,169.38.

AutoZone Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,191.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,375.35 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,111.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,010.06.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current year.

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.