Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 35.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 288 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 2.9% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 4.8% in the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,219.73 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $70.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,126.05 and a 200 day moving average of $3,842.55.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,538.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.