Carderock Capital Management Inc. Buys New Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 65 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,129.16 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,131.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,007.34. The company has a market capitalization of $53.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Corporate insiders own 2.50% 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.