Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 1,471 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,546 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $64,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,147.95 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,112.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,031.85. The firm has a market cap of $53.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value 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 approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

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.