Fmr LLC Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fmr LLC trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 309,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,694 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $974,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,590,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $49,339,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,397,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in AutoZone by 311.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the 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 value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.4 %

AZO stock opened at $3,188.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,115.05 and a 200-day moving average of $3,032.95. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.