AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of 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 shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 349.5% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 74,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,190,000 after acquiring an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4,484.3% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,917,000 after acquiring an additional 26,592 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,970.01 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4,149.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,867.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,393 shares of company stock valued at $33,755,091. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

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.