AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 232.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 715 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at about $2,816,000. Verde Capital Management acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in AutoZone by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,979,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,188.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3,115.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,032.95. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.