Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 325,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,532 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,099,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.9% during the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 11,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,135,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 31.2% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,782,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1,411.2% in the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 2,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings cut AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on AutoZone from $4,345.00 to $4,096.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,040.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, with a total value of $492,855.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,153. This represents a 15.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,117.96 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,091.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,400.36. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,902.20 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.33.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.40% and a negative return on equity of 80.35%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $35.36 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.39 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.