Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 421 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,271 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.05% of AutoZone worth $29,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Conning Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $3,169.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded down $33.34 on Friday, hitting $3,033.58. The stock had a trading volume of 94,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,797. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,132.67 and a 200 day moving average of $3,011.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,375.35 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 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.