Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 55,912 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,912 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.47% of AutoZone worth $285,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $4,004.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $4,151.09 and a 200-day moving average of $3,863.56. The company has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $51.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.