Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 2,277 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,278 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.39% of AutoZone worth $176,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 7,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,213,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,724,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2,945.98. The company had a trading volume of 115,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,387. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,029.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,772.66. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,277.88 and a one year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $24.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,086.61.

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.