Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Boosts Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $32,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter worth approximately $424,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in AutoZone by 2,714.8% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after acquiring an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 56.47 % 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 worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,178.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,121.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,037.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities 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.com, the company 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.