Bristlecone Advisors LLC Makes New $244,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Bristlecone Advisors LLC acquired 64 shares of AutoZone, Inc. during the first quarter, totaling approximately $244,000 in value.
• AutoZone's stock has seen a 0.6% decline, trading at around $4,036.97, with a market cap of $67.74 billion.
• Bank of America and other analysts have recently upgraded AutoZone's rating, with a new price target set as high as $4,800.00.

Bristlecone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 64 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,967,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after buying an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,421,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock worth $655,840,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in AutoZone by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,603,000 after purchasing an additional 36,916 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 price objective (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $4.41 on Monday, hitting $4,039.57. The company had a trading volume of 96,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,581. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,094.69. The stock has a market cap of $67.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,737.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,646.80.

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). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $36.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.