Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 40 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,127 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in 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. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st 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, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,111.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,112.04 and a 200-day moving average of $3,017.76. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71.

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

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.