Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 353 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,111.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,029.01.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $46.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.