Savvy Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired 63 shares of AutoZone, Inc. during Q1, valued at approximately $240,000.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Barclays PLC, have significantly increased their holdings in AutoZone, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have boosted their price targets for AutoZone, with Guggenheim increasing their target from $3,850 to $4,100, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.

Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 63 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 95.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 17,470 shares of the company's stock worth $66,609,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter worth $212,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter worth $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in AutoZone by 14.7% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accuvest Global Advisors purchased a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter worth $1,163,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $6.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,999.01. 28,208 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,865. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.10 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $3,759.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,661.16. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,898.57 and a 12-month high of $4,094.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for 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 revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $36.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.