Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 102 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired 102 shares of AutoZone, Inc. valued at approximately $379,000 in the second quarter, indicating increasing institutional interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have recently raised their price targets for AutoZone, with Barclays setting it at $4,610.00 and TD Cowen at $4,900.00, reflecting strong growth expectations.
• AutoZone's latest earnings report showed a miss in EPS estimates, with a reported $48.71 versus the consensus of $50.52, although revenue was slightly up compared to the previous year.

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 105 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $4,196.29 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4,079.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,817.29.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $51.58 earnings per share. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AutoZone

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.

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