Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,730,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,868 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.99% of AutoZone worth $5,453,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Capital LP grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole purchased 36 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares in the company, valued at $99,255.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AZO traded up $24.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2,950.40. The company had a trading volume of 90,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,871. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2,870.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,893.69. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,375.35 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.67 by $1.02. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 54.58% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $34.12 earnings per share. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,024.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,112.71.

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.