AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by State Street Corp

State Street Corp cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 698,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,487 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,201,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,190.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,128.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,043.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,216.44.

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.