Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 3,842 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 5.3%, acquiring an additional 3,842 shares, totaling 76,886 shares valued at approximately $292.73 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in AutoZone, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by over 435,000% in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating for AutoZone, with price targets ranging up to $4,850.00, reflecting optimism about the company's growth outlook.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,886 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,842 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.46% of AutoZone worth $292,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after buying an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $442,530,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,603,000 after purchasing an additional 36,916 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $4,039.57 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,898.57 and a 52-week high of $4,094.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,742.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,651.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone 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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