Polaris Financial Partners Acquires New Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 8,649.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,702,000 after purchasing an additional 19,807 shares during the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 26,077.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,960,000 after buying an additional 49,548 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 247,417.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 249,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,963,000 after acquiring an additional 249,892 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 47,900.0% during the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $20.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $2,798.29. 169,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,111. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,756.13 and a 1-year high of $4,252.54. The company has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $2,967.82 and its 200-day moving average is $3,165.18.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 90.08% and a net margin of 12.65%.The company had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $48.71 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 172.84 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,367,100. This represents a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,096.00 to $3,917.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $3,400.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. UBS Group set a $3,850.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,710.36.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.