Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires 2,621 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 24.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,384 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $42,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 14.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.5 %

AZO stock traded up $45.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3,190.10. The stock had a trading volume of 137,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,090. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,115.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,032.95. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week 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). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

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.