Aspire Growth Partners LLC Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Aspire Growth Partners LLC has invested $232,000 in AutoZone, acquiring 62 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider selling has been significant, with VP Richard Craig Smith selling 3,000 shares and Chairman William C. Rhodes III selling 27,500 shares, marking a decrease in ownership of 50.63% and 76.29%, respectively.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on AutoZone, with BMO Capital Markets raising its price target to $4,100 and several firms giving the stock a consensus "Buy" rating.

Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 62 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in AutoZone by 86.7% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 74 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 13,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,545,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 187 shares of the company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,101.29.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded down $23.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4,104.35. 119,356 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,413. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,898.57 and a fifty-two week high of $4,187.39. The company has a market capitalization of $68.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3,809.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,690.97.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone 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.