Brighton Jones LLC Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 141.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 297 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,709,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after purchasing an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,821.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4,137.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,881.01. The company has a market capitalization of $64.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.