National Bank of Canada FI Sells 668 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $45,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,811.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,515.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,294.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,842.82.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.