Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires 2,621 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,384 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,621 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up about 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.08% of AutoZone worth $42,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,816,000. Verde Capital Management bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,979,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $45.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3,190.10. 137,176 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,090. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,115.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,032.95. The firm has a market cap of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $46.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current 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.