Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,601.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,573.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,343.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 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.