Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 87 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 282.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 31,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,897,000 after buying an additional 23,022 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,362,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,512,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,076.62 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,149.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,857.48. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $51.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.