Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 151,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,051 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $486,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Finally, Marshfield Associates grew its holdings in AutoZone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,769.72 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,483.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,280.69. The company has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,838.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.