State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System decreased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $58,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in AutoZone by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 15,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $787,000. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 77,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,169,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 30.2% during the second quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,962.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,941.82 and its 200 day moving average is $3,901.03. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,162.00 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share 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 prior year, the business posted $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,547.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% 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.