B&L Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,114 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,659,000. AutoZone accounts for about 4.2% of B&L Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 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 valued at $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth $424,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in AutoZone by 2,714.8% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6 %

AZO opened at $3,169.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.60 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,121.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,036.50.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % 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 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.