Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 78 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 203,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,641,000 after purchasing an additional 7,988 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,182.07 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,375.35 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $54.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,133.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,008.48.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 EPS for the current year.

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.