AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Purchased by YHB Investment Advisors Inc.

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1,628.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,019 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,208 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 2.5% of YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $39,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 0.4% in the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% during the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.7% during the first quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total transaction of $4,510,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,367,100. The trade was a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein upgraded AutoZone (AZO) to Strong Buy, a potentially meaningful catalyst because it signals increased confidence in the company’s long-term earnings and valuation outlook. Bernstein upgrades AutoZone stock to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone has an average analyst price target of $3,669.12, materially above the cited trading level, indicating analysts see potential upside. AutoZone, Inc. Stock Has Average Price Target of $3,669.12
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks initiated a FY2029 EPS estimate of $220.60, suggesting substantial longer-term earnings growth from the current full-year consensus estimate of $172.12.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q3 2028 EPS forecast modestly to $46.56 from $45.66, but this increase was outweighed by reductions to several other quarterly and annual estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut EPS forecasts across much of its outlook: FY2027 to $166.16 from $174.73, FY2028 to $190.08 from $197.32, Q1 2027 to $34.65, Q2 2027 to $31.45, Q3 2027 to $41.91, Q4 2027 to $58.15, Q1 2028 to $41.39, and Q2 2028 to $39.11. The broad revisions imply more cautious expectations for near- and medium-term profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: The estimate reductions could pressure AZO because they lower expectations for future earnings growth, even though the company’s latest reported revenue increased year over year and its prior quarterly EPS exceeded consensus.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE AZO traded up $72.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2,919.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,230. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,949.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,149.16. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,730.65 and a 52 week high of $4,146.42. The stock has a market cap of $47.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 90.08% and a net margin of 12.65%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $48.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 172.12 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,698.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered AutoZone from an “overweight” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $3,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,450.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $3,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,669.12.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.