Northwest Bancshares Inc. Has $5.64 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,141,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 29,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,312,000 after purchasing an additional 6,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,106.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,113.44 and its 200-day moving average is $3,027.64. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.