Invesco Ltd. Increases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 36.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,096 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,862 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $568,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,179,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 266.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Night Squared LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,860,000. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 60.0% in the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4,090.00 to $4,262.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,500.00 to $4,400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,545.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.4%

AZO opened at $3,838.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $63.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,919.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,905.35. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,162.00 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoZone 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.