AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,946 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.27% of AutoZone worth $141,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $781,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,465,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,360.47.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,370.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,155.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,069.24. The company has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company 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.