AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 16.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 1.5% of Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $23,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,262 shares of company stock worth $45,194,187. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,655.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,689.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,499.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,792.14 and a one year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,072.24.

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.