AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Richard Craig Smith Sells 3,000 Shares

Key Points

• AutoZone VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $3,875.90, reducing his position by over 50%.
• AutoZone reported quarterly earnings of $35.36 per share, missing estimates by $1.71, although revenue exceeded expectations at $4.46 billion.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for AutoZone, with an average target of $4,087.00, highlighting a generally positive outlook from market analysts.

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AZO traded down $22.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,819.20. The stock had a trading volume of 80,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,753. The company has a market capitalization of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,710.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,591.79. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,898.57 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

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.

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