AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in AutoZone by 33.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,046.35 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,116.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,013.96. The stock has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.