Waverton Investment Management Ltd Makes New $208,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd purchased 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 fund purchased 66 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in AutoZone by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 4,503.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,913,000 after buying an additional 7,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,344,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

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 shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,173.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,112.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,018.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. AutoZone’s 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, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.