Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $69.01 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,907 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $69,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 108.6% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 21,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,784,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,755,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AZO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,384.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, 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 transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,253.47 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,171.99 and a 200-day moving average of $3,084.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $32.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current 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.