Fmr LLC Sells 47,769 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fmr LLC reduced its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 261,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,769 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 1.56% of AutoZone worth $837,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 4.8 %

AZO stock opened at $3,479.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,533.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,308.09.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.