PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 4,456 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,456 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of AutoZone worth $135,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,106.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,113.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,027.64. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.