Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 116,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,530,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.69% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

AutoZone stock opened at $4,036.97 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3,737.09 and a 200-day moving average of $3,646.80. The firm has a market cap of $67.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,094.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $36.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $4,087.00.

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.