VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys New Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,046,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 target price (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.6%

AZO opened at $4,031.84 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4,150.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,865.73. The company has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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 company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the 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 approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.