State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 22 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $20,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in AutoZone by 98.3% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,127,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 266.7% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Night Squared LP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $2,860,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,801.30 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,980.10 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4,141.67 and a 200-day moving average of $3,876.96. The stock has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm 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 for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $51.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade 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 through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 price objective (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

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.