Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 5,480 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 119,399 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,480 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $404,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Camden National Bank boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.6% during the third quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Corp MA ADV raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.7% during the third quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,987.00 per share, with a total value of $492,855.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This represents a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,082.70 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,928.11 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,399.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,543.31.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.40% and a negative return on equity of 77.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $35.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.18 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,478.00 to $3,979.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,345.00 to $4,096.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,040.87.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.