Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Purchases 27 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 451 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,111.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,112.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,017.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’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 value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% 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.