Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 409,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,465 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,390,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $356,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 3.8% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 8.9% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,110,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 52.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,667,000 after buying an additional 4,039 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,020.00 to $3,605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,000.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,040.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,006.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.43. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,945.00 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,430.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,570.14.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $35.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 149.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting AutoZone

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone said commercial sales and market share gains remain strong, and management is still targeting 355 to 365 new store openings this fiscal year, supporting the growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts, including Jefferies, BNP Paribas Exane, TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and others, kept bullish ratings such as buy, outperform, or overweight despite lowering targets, implying upside remains from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: AutoZone beat EPS estimates and posted 8.4% revenue growth year over year, but revenue still came in slightly below consensus, creating a mixed reaction from investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: AutoZone shares are under pressure after a quarterly revenue miss and gross margin contraction, prompting multiple price-target cuts from Wall Street firms. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary pointed to slower international growth and weaker late-quarter trends, reinforcing concerns that near-term momentum may be cooling after an otherwise solid quarter. Article Title

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do?it?yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.