AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Holdings Trimmed by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,111.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,029.01. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.