Freedom Investment Management Inc. Takes $708,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter worth approximately $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.5 %

AZO stock opened at $3,190.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,118.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,034.04. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $46.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone 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.