Carderock Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 65 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,129.16 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,375.35 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3,131.84 and its 200-day moving average is $3,007.34.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. 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 hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Company 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.