QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after buying an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after acquiring an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,111.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,112.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,017.76.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current 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.