AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,669 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.19% of AutoZone worth $95,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after buying an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after buying an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in AutoZone by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 212,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,296,000 after buying an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 203,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,641,000 after buying an additional 7,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in AutoZone by 564.2% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,338,000 after buying an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,196.61 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,375.35 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,121.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,011.94. The firm has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $2,600.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,394.00 to $3,341.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,169.38.

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.