AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $25,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,601.29 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market cap of $60.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,573.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,340.04.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.