Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 387 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,415 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.25% of AutoZone worth $130,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 278 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 20.0% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 43 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $876,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO traded down $4.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3,156.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,472. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,112.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,022.53.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price 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, BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.