Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 37 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in AutoZone by 542.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3,390.02 and its 200 day moving average is $3,238.89. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

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.