Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 13,643 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 10.49% of the company with a total stake valued at about $6.71 billion.
• AutoZone's stock price rose by 1.7%, opening at $4,081.22, with a 52-week high of $4,094.69.
• The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, which fell short of the consensus estimate, while revenue increased 5.4% year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.49% of AutoZone worth $6,709,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 30.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,540,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares in the last quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $1,010,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 18.2% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.2% during the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% during the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 842 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% 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 valued at $126,058,789 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded down $6.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $4,028.79. 20,231 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,759. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,737.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,646.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,898.57 and a 52 week high of $4,094.69.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZO. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

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.