Cherokee Insurance Co Purchases Shares of 1,200 AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Cherokee Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,455,000. AutoZone comprises about 1.9% of Cherokee Insurance Co’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson set a $4,850.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,400. This trade represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,791.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4,026.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,887.96. The stock has a market cap of $63.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,036.40 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.