AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Dennis W. Leriche Sells 1,575 Shares

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $3,390.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,238.89. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AutoZone

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.