AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) is Boston Partners' 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in AutoZone by 2.9%, holding 334,285 shares, which now represents approximately 1.5% of its portfolio, making AutoZone its 4th largest position.
• AutoZone reported $35.36 earnings per share, missing analysts' estimates of $37.07, while its revenue was $4.46 billion, above expectations of $4.41 billion.
• Major financial institutions offered mixed outlooks on AutoZone, with multiple firms setting price targets ranging from $3,740.00 to $4,600.00, while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Buy".

Boston Partners lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 334,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,046 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 1.5% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Boston Partners owned 1.99% of AutoZone worth $1,273,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company's stock worth $3,942,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $484,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 603 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,931,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 100 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $15.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,007.93. 100,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,525. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,898.57 and a fifty-two week high of $4,094.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,759.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,661.16. The company has a market cap of $67.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.38.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm 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 revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone 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.