AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,996 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,823 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.05% of AutoZone worth $38,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 7 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,564 shares in the company, valued at $11,910,852.36. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total value of $823,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,102,665. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,447 shares of company stock worth $34,179,923 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,318.38.

AutoZone Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,612.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,644.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,809.00. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,210.72 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $28.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

About AutoZone

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.