Comerica Bank Sells 3,123 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Comerica Bank lessened its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 47.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,123 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 80.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,059,000 after acquiring an additional 45,212 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 401.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,467 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $149,656,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 96.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 61,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,533,000 after acquiring an additional 29,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE AZO opened at $3,564.08 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3,210.72 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,549.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,634.09. The stock has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $28.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,076.00 to $4,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,312.13.

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.