Allianz SE Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Allianz SE bought a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,862,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,838.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,483.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,279.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone 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.