Conning Inc. Has $702,000 Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Conning Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 127.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth $50,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZO. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,981.19 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,119.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,013.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,491.50 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $50.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 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 the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.