Huntington National Bank Acquires 18 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Huntington National Bank increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 519 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,107.53 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,112.53 and its 200 day moving average is $3,023.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % 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 valued at $46,225,660 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

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.