Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires Shares of 248 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company's stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the second quarter worth $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the company's stock worth $107,375,000 after buying an additional 27,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,384.89.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO traded down $16.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3,353.67. The stock had a trading volume of 136,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,484. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,416.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,155.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,069.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone Company 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.