Marco Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,007 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 9.0% during the second quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 2,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,835,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 8.8% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.9% during the second quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,406,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,715.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,052.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,883.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,036.40 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

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

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Gabelli reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial cut 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 research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.