Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Decreases Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $678,350,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AutoZone by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 341.5% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 159,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,582,000 after purchasing an additional 123,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in AutoZone by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 195,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,512,000 after purchasing an additional 58,234 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole purchased 36 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their target price on AutoZone from $3,523.00 to $3,394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on AutoZone from $3,420.00 to $3,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,066.53.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE AZO traded up $15.36 on Friday, hitting $2,792.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 93,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,881. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,009.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,829.02.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $34.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.