Bretton Capital Management LLC Invests $6.30 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bretton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,300,000. AutoZone accounts for about 6.0% of Bretton Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZO. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,891,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 519 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 3,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,075,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,860 shares of the company's stock worth $9,009,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in AutoZone by 9.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 5,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,538,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AZO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $25.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3,136.06. 107,508 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 138,773. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,112.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,022.53. The stock has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.