Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 33.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,690 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.8% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 41,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,459,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 8.7% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AZO shares. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,166.93 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,113.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,026.55.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.