AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 516 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.8% in the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 30.0% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.2% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.5% in the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $4,004.42 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4,151.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,863.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 price target (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 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. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.