Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,147 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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. raised its position in AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,375,000 after buying an additional 27,580 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,116.96 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,111.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,030.66.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 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 revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company 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.