AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,046 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in AutoZone were worth $19,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 131 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 319 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 137 shares of the company's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,451,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AZO traded down $16.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,680.56. The company had a trading volume of 110,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,558. The company has a market capitalization of $61.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,894.02 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $3,702.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,569.74.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.