AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) CEO Philip Daniele Sells 2,533 Shares

Key Points

• Philip Daniele, CEO of AutoZone, sold 2,533 shares of the company for approximately $10.18 million, reflecting a 97.87% decrease in his holdings to just 55 shares valued at $221,148.40.
• AutoZone saw its stock decline by 1.5% recently, trading at $3,970.01, with a market capitalization of $66.62 billion.
• The company's quarterly earnings missed analyst expectations, reporting $48.71 EPS against a consensus estimate of $50.52, and faced a negative return on equity of 60.49% despite a revenue increase of 0.6% year-over-year.

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) CEO Philip Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.5%

AZO traded down $60.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3,970.01. 119,611 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,698. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,150.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,865.73. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 95 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $429,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $280,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 61,096 shares of the company's stock worth $259,533,000 after acquiring an additional 29,929 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 944 shares of the company's stock worth $4,049,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4,750.00 price objective (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,544.68.

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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