Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,051 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.91% of AutoZone worth $486,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 7.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,375,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $945,000. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company increased its holdings in AutoZone by 24.1% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,769.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,483.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,280.69. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,838.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.