Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 35.2% during Q2, bringing its holdings to a value of $1,069,000.
• Analyst reports have seen various price targets for AutoZone, with Jefferies Financial Group raising its target from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and asserting a "buy" rating.
• AutoZone reported earnings of $48.71 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates and showing a revenue of $6.24 billion, which was below expected figures.

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 35.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 288 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the second quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 833 shares of the company's stock worth $3,092,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 43.7% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 11,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,893,000 after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 17.5% during the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 894 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 9.1% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,538.21.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $4,219.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4,126.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,842.55. 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 $70.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.40.

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

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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