Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 16 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,393 shares of company stock worth $33,755,091. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.0%

AZO opened at $4,006.67 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,980.10 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,149.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,868.90. The company has a market capitalization of $67.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.