Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 427 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for approximately 0.6% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.12% of AutoZone worth $64,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 7,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,006,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Clio Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clio Asset Management LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,784,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,232.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,347.85 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,416.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,134.07 and a 200 day moving average of $3,053.20.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 155.79 EPS for the current 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.