225 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Purchased by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.1% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 2.6% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.5 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,190.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,118.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,034.04. The stock has a market cap of $53.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were 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 represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.