Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Purchases 11,037 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.13% of AutoZone worth $66,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during 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 buying an additional 993,139 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after acquiring an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 319.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,375,000 after purchasing an additional 27,580 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % 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 worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,360.47.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,370.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,416.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,155.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,066.94.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS 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.