Financial Designs Corp Acquires Shares of 70 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Financial Designs Corp acquired 70 shares of AutoZone, Inc. ($AZO) valued at approximately $260,000 during the second quarter.
• Insider Vice President Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares, decreasing his position by 50.63%, while Vice President John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares, reducing his position by 69.69%.
• Brokerages have increased their price targets for AutoZone, with Barclays raising it to $4,610 and Morgan Stanley to $4,700, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock.

Financial Designs Corp bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 70 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,267,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 7,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,591,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company's stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $545,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.5%

AZO stock opened at $4,196.29 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $70.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,079.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,819.17.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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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