AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Holocene Advisors LP

Holocene Advisors LP cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 62.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,889 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,350 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $140,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,472,724,000 after acquiring an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $981,202,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after purchasing an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1,185.5% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 64,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,126,000 after purchasing an additional 59,653 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 349.5% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 74,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,190,000 after purchasing an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,499.00 to $4,076.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,365.35.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.8%

AZO stock opened at $3,440.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,838.77 and a 200-day moving average of $3,893.49. The company has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,162.00 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $32.69 by ($1.65). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $32.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CFO Jamere Jackson acquired 55 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3,413.50 per share, with a total value of $187,742.50. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,665,788. The trade was a 12.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. This trade represents a 41.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891 over the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Company 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.