King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,285 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 4,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,445,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,070.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,111.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,028.09. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during 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%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.