William C. Rhodes III Sells 300 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $33.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,033.58. 94,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,797. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,375.35 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,132.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,010.08.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $46.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AZO shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $3,169.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.