ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 700.0% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,791.94 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,036.40 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4,026.36 and a 200-day moving average of $3,887.96.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

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.