AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,694 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.83% of AutoZone worth $974,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,816,000. Verde Capital Management acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 592.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,979,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,188.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,115.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,032.95.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $46.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.