Berger Financial Group Inc Sells 17 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Berger Financial Group Inc lessened its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 7.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after buying an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AutoZone by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after acquiring an additional 239,970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,173.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,133.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,848.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,538.21.

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.