Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 244 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,611 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s 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 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 represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,169.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,121.25 and a 200-day moving average of $3,036.50. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current 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.