Boston Trust Walden Corp Purchases 292 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,572 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $55,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $939,205,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in AutoZone by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 492,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,671,323,000 after acquiring an additional 74,555 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 387.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,832,000 after acquiring an additional 61,821 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,730,000 after acquiring an additional 50,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 80.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,059,000 after purchasing an additional 45,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Hannasch acquired 165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,641,153. The trade was a 15.65% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Argus raised AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,040.87.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,158.56 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,257.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,446.47. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,928.11 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.33.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $35.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.