Payden & Rygel Raises Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Payden & Rygel boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 50.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $12,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 166.7% in the 3rd quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 120 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,548.03, for a total value of $305,763.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,492.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,548.03, for a total transaction of $305,763.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 156 shares in the company, valued at $397,492.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Preston Frazer sold 6,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,476.97, for a total transaction of $16,729,455.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,171.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,069 shares of company stock valued at $30,651,562 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.2 %

AutoZone stock traded down $31.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,627.05. The stock had a trading volume of 152,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,549. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2,557.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,522.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $2,750.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 19th. The company reported $46.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.51 by $1.95. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.48% and a negative return on equity of 60.66%. The company had revenue of $5.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $40.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 147.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,006.00 to $2,863.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $2,740.00 to $2,750.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on AutoZone from $2,835.00 to $2,750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,793.95.

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.