Meeder Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZO shares. BNP Paribas raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.8 %

AZO opened at $3,049.58 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,112.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,027.79.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share 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.