Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 1,571 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 5.2%, now owning 28,875 shares valued at approximately $102.41 million.
• Analysts have increased price targets for AutoZone, with Evercore ISI and Bank of America raising their targets to $4,250.00 and $4,800.00, respectively.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by VP Richard Craig Smith and Chairman William C. Rhodes III, who sold 3,000 and 27,500 shares, respectively.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,875 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,571 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of AutoZone worth $102,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $46,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,101.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $23.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4,203.67. The company had a trading volume of 113,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,817. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,843.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,705.84. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,898.57 and a 12 month high of $4,216.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.38.

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