Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Buys 1,086 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 76.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $10,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,711,912,000 after buying an additional 26,544 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,724,000 after acquiring an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,870,000 after acquiring an additional 11,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at about $981,202,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $21,867,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. George purchased 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,398.13 per share, for a total transaction of $492,728.85. Following the acquisition, the director owned 566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,923,341.58. This represents a 34.44% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Zacks Research raised AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $4,100.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,555.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,271.25.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,751.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,563.31 and a 200-day moving average of $3,842.43. The company has a market cap of $62.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,210.72 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $32.69 by ($1.65). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $32.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.