National Pension Service Buys 2,065 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 5.1%, acquiring an additional 2,065 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.25% valued at $161.4 million.
• Recent research reports indicate a positive outlook for AutoZone, with analysts setting price targets ranging from $3,950 to $4,800 and a consensus rating of "Buy."
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 27,500 shares by Chairman William C. Rhodes III, marking a significant 76.29% decrease in his holdings.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,339 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of AutoZone worth $161,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in AutoZone by 5.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 76,886 shares of the company's stock worth $292,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,842 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,052 shares of the company's stock worth $26,852,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1,270.2% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 8,591 shares of the company's stock worth $32,756,000 after buying an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 10.7% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,299 shares of the company's stock worth $8,766,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.5% during the first quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 21,654 shares of the company's stock worth $82,561,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This represents a 85.95% 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $4,038.42 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $3,754.31 and its 200-day moving average is $3,656.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.76 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,898.57 and a 52 week high of $4,094.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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