Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 214 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 24.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,107 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.5% during the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 67 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $4,650.00 to $4,526.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,311.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,102,665. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael A. George purchased 145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 566 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,341.58. This trade represents a 34.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 347 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares valued at $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,641.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,621.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,819.24. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market cap of $60.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $28.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone 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.