Geode Capital Management LLC Has $1.33 Billion Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 421,716 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.50% of AutoZone worth $1,326,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.1 %

AutoZone stock traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,344.70. 119,116 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,673. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,137.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,057.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $32.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 155.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,339.25.

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.