Isthmus Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 4,887 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,394,000. AutoZone makes up approximately 1.8% of Isthmus Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,190.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,118.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,034.04. The company has a market capitalization of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

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). 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 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. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.