Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 4 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,049.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,112.05 and its 200 day moving average is $3,027.79. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Guggenheim raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

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.