Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 40 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,860 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 137.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in AutoZone by 564.2% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after buying an additional 129,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in AutoZone by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,161.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,112.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,021.55. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 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.