Dennis W. Leriche Sells 1,575 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,390.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,238.89. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,704.43.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.