Townsend & Associates Inc Increases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Townsend & Associates Inc raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,490 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $14,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 36.5% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,008,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,111.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,112.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,017.76. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $46.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is 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.