FORA Capital LLC Buys 606 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

FORA Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,026 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 0.8% of FORA Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $2,816,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in AutoZone by 5.6% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,979,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.5 %

AZO stock traded up $15.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,160.06. The stock had a trading volume of 16,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,514. The company has a market capitalization of $53.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3,112.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,031.85.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.