Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 2,660 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $50,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $295,000. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $646,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,196.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,121.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,011.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,375.35 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. Citigroup cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $2,600.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,169.38.

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.