Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $69.54 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of AutoZone worth $69,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in AutoZone by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.4% in the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,398.16 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,680.96 and a fifty-two week high of $3,484.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,320.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,203.12. The company has a market cap of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $32.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.