Martin Investment Management LLC Purchases 49 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Martin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises 1.8% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,138,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 60.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,427 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 12.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,059,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $2,816,000. Finally, Verde Capital Management bought a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $1,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,046.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,116.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,013.96. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.