AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,415 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $80,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.0% in the third quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related 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 value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.0 %

AZO stock opened at $2,961.04 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,014.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,767.20. The stock has a market cap of $51.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

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.