AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $141,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,370.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,155.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,069.24. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,360.47.

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.