Vestcor Inc Sells 145 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 4.2% in the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 2.5% during the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners grew its stake in AutoZone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 67 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,682.67 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3,210.72 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,627.17 and its 200-day moving average is $3,813.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $28.29 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,910,852.36. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael A. George purchased 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,398.13 per share, for a total transaction of $492,728.85. Following the acquisition, the director owned 566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,341.58. The trade was a 34.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders acquired 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.