Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Sells 14 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 24.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $4,031.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4,152.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,862.30.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About AutoZone

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.