Blue Trust Inc. Has $249,000 Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 127.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. Citigroup reduced their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value 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. The trade was 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 Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,156.46 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,375.35 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,134.91 and a 200-day moving average of $3,009.12.

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

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.