Centiva Capital LP Makes New $570,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,232.88.

AutoZone Trading Up 3.7 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,309.44 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,313.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,130.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,047.40. The firm has a market cap of $55.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 155.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.