Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in AutoZone, purchasing 3,364 shares valued at approximately $12.67 million.
• Various hedge funds increased their stakes in AutoZone, with a total 92.74% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• AutoZone's stock has received a majority of positive ratings, with analysts setting a consensus target price of $4,101.29 and several increasing their target prices recently.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,668,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $44,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZO. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,101.29.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $4,180.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3,831.83 and its 200-day moving average is $3,702.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,898.57 and a 52 week high of $4,187.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%.AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $36.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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