AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Highland Capital cut its AutoZone stake by 83.1%, selling 523 shares in Q4 and retaining just 106 shares worth about $359,000 per its latest 13F filing.
• Equity analysts have been raising targets and remain bullish overall, with a consensus price target of $4,312.13 and the stock rated an average "Moderate Buy" (majority Buy ratings).
• AutoZone slightly beat EPS estimates ($27.63 vs. $27.59) while revenue grew 8.2% year‑over‑year to $4.27 billion but narrowly missed the $4.31 billion estimate.

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 83.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106 shares of the company's stock after selling 523 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 3,203 shares of the company's stock worth $10,863,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 700.0% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,058,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,800.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,300.00 price target (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,547.40 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,534.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,620.94.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The business had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $28.29 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,826,568.64. The trade was a 1.02% 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. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc NYSE: AZO is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.

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