Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 331 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in AutoZone by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% during the second quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,945.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,938.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,906.00. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,162.00 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $65.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Gabelli reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,547.56.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.60% 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.