Forsta AP Fonden Purchases 300 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 33.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.7 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,130.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,132.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,010.24. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,425.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.