Havemeyer Place LP Makes New Investment in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Havemeyer Place LP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,329,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $939,205,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in AutoZone by 387.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,832,000 after acquiring an additional 61,821 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in AutoZone by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,730,000 after acquiring an additional 50,071 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 80.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,059,000 after acquiring an additional 45,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 401.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Barclays boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,800.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,040.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,116.41 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,393.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,538.05. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,928.11 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.35.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $35.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.18 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.