Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management boosted its AutoZone stake by 73.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 89,715 shares valued at about $304.3 million. Institutional investors now own roughly 92.74% of AutoZone’s stock.
• Wall Street remains mostly positive on AZO, with 20 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy, and six Hold ratings. The consensus target price is about $4,040.87, though several firms recently trimmed their price targets.
• AutoZone reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $38.07, ahead of estimates, and revenue of $4.84 billion, up 8.4% year over year. Shares were recently trading near $3,110, below their 52-week high of $4,388.11.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 73.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,715 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,912 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of AutoZone worth $304,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in AutoZone by 6.6% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 4,966 shares of the company's stock worth $21,315,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 1,199.3% in the third quarter. Numerai GP LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the company's stock worth $7,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,808,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its position in AutoZone by 185.7% in the third quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 640 shares of the company's stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund grew its position in AutoZone by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 14,224 shares of the company's stock worth $48,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,020.00 to $3,605.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4,325.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,345.00 to $4,096.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,526.00 to $4,023.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,040.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This trade represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,110.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,367.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,514.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,928.11 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $36.22 by $1.85. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $35.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.45 earnings per share for the current year.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc NYSE: AZO is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.

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