Baxter Bros Inc. Acquires 20 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Baxter Bros Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after buying an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after buying an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.9% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after buying an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,929,000 after buying an additional 239,970 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $4,020.44 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $67.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4,141.30 and a 200-day moving average of $3,851.18.

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

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Company 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.