AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Position Boosted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in AutoZone by 10.7% during Q1, now owning 2,299 shares valued at approximately $8.77 million.
• Insider selling was significant, with CFO Jamere Jackson selling 2,612 shares for nearly $9.74 million, representing an 85.95% decrease in their position.
• AutoZone's recent quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $35.36 EPS against a consensus of $37.07, although revenue was up 5.4% compared to the prior year.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,299 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after buying an additional 770,005 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after buying an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in AutoZone by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,603,000 after buying an additional 36,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AZO stock traded up $15.45 on Friday, reaching $4,007.93. 100,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,525. The stock has a market cap of $67.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,765.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,668.31. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,094.69.

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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $36.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. This represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.