W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Grows Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. significantly increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 76.4%, now holding 157 shares valued at approximately $599,000.
• Several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC which raised its position by over 435,000%, have recently bolstered their investments in AutoZone, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for AutoZone, with estimates ranging from $3,811 to $4,350, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock performance.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 76.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in AutoZone by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,421,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after purchasing an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 during the period. Finally, Marshfield Associates raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 170,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,238,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction 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 $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,858.37 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,898.57 and a one year high of $3,919.50. The stock has a market cap of $64.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,707.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,620.79.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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