Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 11.9% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,197,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $158,000. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,107.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,112.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,024.56. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $52.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone 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.