AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% in the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock traded down $5.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $2,980.34. The stock had a trading volume of 93,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,507. The stock has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,005.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,761.20. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $24.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AutoZone

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.