Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 32 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,370 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its stake in AutoZone by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after buying an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $145,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,506,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 through this link. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,108.83.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $26.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,994.05. 81,736 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,983. The company has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,055.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,791.59.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.