Earl Graves Jr Sells 250 Shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Director Earl Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total value of $823,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,665. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AutoZone stock traded down $35.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $3,268.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 165,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,234. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,162.00 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,661.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,867.91. The company has a market cap of $54.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $32.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.4% in the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,300,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $626,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,510.00 to $4,318.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,330.84.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do?it?yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.