Truist Financial Corp Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,813 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $13,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after buying an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176,623 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 341.5% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 159,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,582,000 after purchasing an additional 123,208 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 195,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,512,000 after purchasing an additional 58,234 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,055,000 after purchasing an additional 34,092 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $2,946.81 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,277.88 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,043.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,782.53.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $24.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

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.