Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases New Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC has purchased a new stake in AutoZone, acquiring 215 shares valued at approximately $798,000 during the second quarter.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for AutoZone stock, with Evercore ISI raising it from $4,250 to $4,500, reflecting optimism about the company's growth potential.
• AutoZone reported a quarterly EPS of $48.71, which missed expectations of $50.52, alongside a revenue of $6.24 billion, slightly below the anticipated $6.26 billion.

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $798,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:AZO opened at $4,196.29 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4,079.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,819.17. The company has a market cap of $70.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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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