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

FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,026 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for 0.8% of FORA Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position 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 valued at $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $15.85 on Wednesday, hitting $3,160.06. 16,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 138,514. The stock 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,112.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,031.85. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

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.