Beddow Capital Management Inc. Purchases 9 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,166.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,113.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,026.55. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $53.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value 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 approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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 MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

About AutoZone

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.