Maverick Capital Ltd. Buys New Shares in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,320,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 66.7% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,250 shares of company stock worth $116,321,123 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,101.29.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,205.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,867.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,720.07. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,898.57 and a 12 month high of $4,229.68. The company has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.41.

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.