AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of AutoZone worth $42,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $212,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 95.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 17,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,609,000 after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Baird R W upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,545.73.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE AZO opened at $3,820.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,912.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,905.14. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,162.00 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11.

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

AutoZone announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,400. This trade represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone 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.