Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,677 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,677 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $370,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,711,912,000 after acquiring an additional 26,544 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 269,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,900,000 after acquiring an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 189,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,730,000 after acquiring an additional 50,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.2% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 172,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,347,000 after acquiring an additional 5,293 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,800.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,290.91.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting AutoZone

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone reported adjusted EPS of $38.07, topping analyst estimates, and total revenue rose 8.4% year over year to about $4.84 billion, showing the core business remains healthy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Domestic momentum was a bright spot, with same-store sales up 4.1% and commercial/DIY demand still resilient, supporting confidence that repair demand is holding up despite a mixed consumer backdrop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: On the earnings call, management sounded cautious, saying growth is being offset by accounting-related and margin headwinds, which may limit how much investors reward the beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, and several reports say the selloff was driven by that miss rather than the EPS beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to gross-margin compression, a non-cash LIFO accounting hit, and weaker international performance, which pressured sentiment despite strong sales growth. Article Title

AutoZone Stock Down 9.0%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,100.16 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,001.00 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,448.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,579.65. The firm has a market cap of $51.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.43.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $35.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 149.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.