Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 70.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,262 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $15,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,730,000 after buying an additional 50,071 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,059,000 after buying an additional 45,212 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 401.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,467 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,711,912,000 after purchasing an additional 26,544 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1,298.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 24,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,475,000 after purchasing an additional 23,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages, including Guggenheim and TD Cowen, reiterated bullish ratings on AutoZone, and other analysts still see meaningful upside despite the selloff.
• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone reported 8.4% year-over-year revenue growth and management said commercial momentum remains strong, with plans to open 355 to 365 new locations this fiscal year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst updates lowered price targets, including moves from Jefferies and BNP Paribas Exane, but both firms kept positive ratings, signaling reduced optimism rather than a bearish call.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary suggests investors are weighing whether the post-earnings decline has created a buying opportunity or whether the stock could fall further from current levels.
• Negative Sentiment: AutoZone’s latest results fell short of revenue expectations, which triggered the stock’s decline as investors focused on the miss rather than the EPS beat. Article: Why AutoZone Stock Slumped This Week
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports say the stock is sliding because investors are concerned that late-quarter softness may point to slowing momentum, despite management’s explanation that weather impacted results.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, for a total transaction of $492,855.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,219 shares in the company, valued at $3,641,153. The trade was a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on AutoZone from $4,478.00 to $3,979.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $3,750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on AutoZone from $4,020.00 to $3,605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,040.87.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE AZO opened at $2,936.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.35. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,931.65 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,421.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,564.57.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $36.22 by $1.85. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 77.83% and a net margin of 12.40%.AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $35.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone 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.