Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $26.75 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,231 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $26,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,202,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at about $205,000. Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its position in AutoZone by 8.5% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,672.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4,062.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,882.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,036.40 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $51.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.