AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 0.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,771,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,574,374,000 after buying an additional 11,142 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,649,228,000 after acquiring an additional 8,187 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,547.56.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the business’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. This represents a 41.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,948.70 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,076.44 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,953.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,897.95. The stock has a market cap of $65.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.