Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 266 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 100%, totaling 532 shares valued at $2,028,000, as per its latest SEC filing.
• Research analysts have raised price targets for AutoZone, with UBS Group setting a new target of $4,260.00 and Oppenheimer upgrading the rating to "outperform".
• AutoZone reported quarterly earnings of $35.36 per share, missing estimates by $1.71, despite revenue growth of 5.4% year-over-year to $4.46 billion.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 100.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 532 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in AutoZone by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 187 shares of the company's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company's stock worth $4,064,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. George Kaiser Family Foundation purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $320,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the company's stock worth $9,684,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Family Office LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

AZO traded down $23.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,104.35. The stock had a trading volume of 119,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,413. The firm has a market cap of $68.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,898.57 and a 12 month high of $4,187.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,809.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,692.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%.The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price target (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,101.29.

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.