19,807 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Purchased by CX Institutional

Key Points

• CX Institutional sharply increased its AutoZone stake by purchasing 19,807 shares in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,036 shares valued at approximately $56.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.74% of AutoZone.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with AutoZone carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $3,710.36, despite several recent target-price reductions and one downgrade to “Market Perform.”
• AutoZone shares recently traded at $2,798.29, well below their 52-week high of $4,252.54. The company reported quarterly revenue of $6.59 billion, up 5.6% year over year, and authorized a $1.5 billion share-repurchase program.

CX Institutional increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 8,649.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,036 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,807 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 1.5% of CX Institutional's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. CX Institutional owned about 0.12% of AutoZone worth $56,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $31,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 26,077.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,738 shares of the company's stock worth $158,960,000 after buying an additional 49,548 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 247,417.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 249,993 shares of the company's stock worth $798,963,000 after acquiring an additional 249,892 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 47,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company's stock worth $6,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AZO. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Roth Capital decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,023.00 to $3,850.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AutoZone from an "overweight" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler set a $3,500.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AutoZone from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,710.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded down $20.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $2,798.29. 169,509 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,111. The stock has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,756.13 and a 1 year high of $4,252.54. The firm's 50 day moving average is $2,967.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,165.18.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.70 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.65% and a negative return on equity of 90.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $48.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 172.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,367,100. This represents a 76.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.

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