Hilltop Holdings Inc. Invests $1.62 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,619,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conning Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,192.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,126.70 and a 200-day moving average of $3,041.13. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,216.44.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.