Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 32 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in AutoZone by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,709,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in AutoZone by 7,358.8% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,929,000 after purchasing an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.3%

AZO stock opened at $3,801.30 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $63.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4,141.67 and a 200-day moving average of $3,879.18.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

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.