AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Zimmer Partners LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $17,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,308.39 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,128.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,043.20. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,313.00. The company has a market cap of $55.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 155.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This 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 link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,232.88.

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.