Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,803 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $36,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $4,031.84 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4,150.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,865.08. The company has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.