Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Decreases Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 73.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,515 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its position in AutoZone by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $145,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in AutoZone by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,506,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,150.00 to $3,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,066.53.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2,778.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,315. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,015.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,826.45. The stock has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.72. 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 results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $35.67 by $1.02. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $34.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.27 earnings per share for the current 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.