State of Alaska Department of Revenue Purchases 108,737 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4,332.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,247 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,737 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up approximately 2.9% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $314,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.7% in the third quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,473,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth $771,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in AutoZone by 7,142.1% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 9,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,259,000 after buying an additional 9,499 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 23.4% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 7,160.0% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 13,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,010,000 after buying an additional 13,246 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,150.00 to $3,500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,096.00 to $3,917.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,669.12.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis LeRiche sold 1,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total value of $4,510,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,367,100. This represents a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO traded up $138.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3,050.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 99,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,953. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2,937.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,133.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,730.65 and a fifty-two week high of $4,047.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 22nd. The company reported $56.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $55.51. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.70 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.65% and a negative return on equity of 90.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $48.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 171.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc is a specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts, accessories and maintenance products. The company serves do-it-yourself customers as well as professional automotive repair shops, offering products such as batteries, brakes, filters, engine components, tools, fluids and other vehicle parts.

In addition to its retail stores, AutoZone provides commercial sales and delivery services for professional repair businesses. The company also operates ALLDATA, which offers automotive diagnostic, repair and shop-management software and information services to repair professionals.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, AutoZone operates primarily in the United States, with additional stores and operations in Mexico and Brazil.