Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 592.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,704.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,390.02 and a 200 day moving average of $3,238.89. The company has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.