Xponance Inc. Cuts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Xponance Inc. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,942 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $12,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $189,483,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,611.51 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,704.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,415.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,250.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.