Insider Selling: AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) VP Sells 3,190 Shares of Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,500.00, for a total value of $11,165,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,194,500. This trade represents a 54.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded up $51.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3,573.61. The stock had a trading volume of 295,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,479. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,205.23 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,597.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,851.32.

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

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

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,160,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,262.00 to $4,234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,264.12.

AutoZone Company 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.