PGGM Investments Sells 352 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

PGGM Investments trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in AutoZone were worth $12,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $900,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 1,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,550,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,824,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,390.02 and its 200 day moving average is $3,238.89. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,704.43. The company has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone 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.