AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Stock Acquired by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7,160.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,431 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,246 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up 0.9% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. owned about 0.08% of AutoZone worth $38,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 4,261.1% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 32,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,701,000 after purchasing an additional 31,660 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 31,746.2% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 33,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,730,000 after purchasing an additional 33,016 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3,033.3% in the third quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 188 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $2,891.80 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,730.65 and a 1 year high of $4,113.44. The firm has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,940.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,136.94.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.65% and a negative return on equity of 90.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $48.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 171.50 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group set a $3,850.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $3,500.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,669.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total transaction of $4,510,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 441 shares in the company, valued at $1,367,100. This trade represents a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.