Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $5.40 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,455 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AutoZone by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.9% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after purchasing an additional 239,970 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $4,076.62 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,980.10 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,149.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,857.48.

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

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

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.