Accuvest Global Advisors Purchases Shares of 305 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Accuvest Global Advisors has acquired a new stake in AutoZone, purchasing 305 shares valued at approximately $1.16 million, making it the 26th largest position in their portfolio.
• Analyst ratings for AutoZone have shown a positive trend, with Oppenheimer upgrading the stock to "outperform" and setting a target price of $4,600.
• Insider selling occurred with Chairman William C. Rhodes III selling 27,500 shares for over $101 million, representing a significant decrease in his ownership position.

Accuvest Global Advisors bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 305 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000. AutoZone comprises 1.0% of Accuvest Global Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,051,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $5,560,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,540,000 after acquiring an additional 24,933 shares during the period. Finally, Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter worth approximately $1,010,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

AutoZone stock traded down $23.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,036.97. The company had a trading volume of 93,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,182. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,898.57 and a fifty-two week high of $4,094.69. The company has a market cap of $67.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,737.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,642.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.