AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after acquiring an additional 239,970 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 349.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 74,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,190,000 after purchasing an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4,484.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,917,000 after purchasing an additional 26,592 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,004.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4,151.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,863.56. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

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

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

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

About AutoZone

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.