Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 215 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,514 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 638 shares of the company's stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in AutoZone by 7.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,497 shares of the company's stock worth $7,866,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 490 shares of the company's stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bretton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,300,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,267 shares of the company's stock worth $22,891,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.9 %

AZO stock traded up $59.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $3,166.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,642. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $3,112.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,025.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,202.71.

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.