Glenmede Trust Co. NA Raises Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,589 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA owned approximately 0.05% of AutoZone worth $27,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 5.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,590,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $49,339,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in AutoZone by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,397,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in AutoZone by 311.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,392 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.4 %

AZO stock opened at $3,188.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,115.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,032.95. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 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.