Eastern Bank Acquires 3,974 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Eastern Bank grew its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 11,038.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,010 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,974 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,938,566,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 261,314 shares of the company's stock worth $886,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 247,417.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 249,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $798,963,000 after purchasing an additional 249,892 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $572,885,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 11,577.6% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 141,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,838,000 after purchasing an additional 139,858 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,367,100. The trade was a 76.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded AutoZone from an "overweight" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $3,698.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer set a $3,400.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,817.00 to $3,648.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,710.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded down $5.90 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $2,786.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,097. The business's 50-day moving average is $2,964.72 and its 200-day moving average is $3,160.31. The stock has a market cap of $45.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,730.65 and a fifty-two week high of $4,224.08.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 90.08% and a net margin of 12.65%.The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $48.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 172.12 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.

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