Martin Investment Management LLC Purchases 49 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Martin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 1.8% of Martin Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity

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

AutoZone Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,046.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,116.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,013.96. The stock has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37.

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