Raymond James Trust N.A. Grows Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 588 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 46.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,358,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $107,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 456.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,111.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,029.28. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AZO. Mizuho upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

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.