Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $70,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,323,000 after acquiring an additional 74,555 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 387,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,312,654,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $939,205,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 261,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 189,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,122.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,065.73 and a 200-day moving average of $3,378.36. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,902.20 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.33.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $36.22 by $1.85. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $35.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.39 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director Brian Hannasch bought 165 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This trade represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZO. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays cut their target price on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,637.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on AutoZone from $4,478.00 to $3,979.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,029.43.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.