Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during 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. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target 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 issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on 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, Truist Financial upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,111.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,029.75. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

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

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.