State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System Has $66.38 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,062 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $66,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $678,350,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,780,000 after purchasing an additional 58,989 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,852,000 after purchasing an additional 47,027 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 212,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,296,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole bought 36 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, with a total value of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,255.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,523.00 to $3,394.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,112.71.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AZO stock traded down $48.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2,935.74. 43,012 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,366. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,872.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,888.58. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,375.35 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.29 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $34.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.