D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,512 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 729.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 714.3% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 12.3% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 price target (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value 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. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 3.8%

AutoZone stock opened at $3,846.31 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4,145.80 and a 200-day moving average of $3,872.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 1.88 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 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 business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.