Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 161 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 48.1% in the first quarter, ending with 174 shares valued at approximately $663,000.
• Analysts have set various price targets for AutoZone, with BMO Capital Markets raising its target to $4,100.00 and Bank of America upgrading its rating to "buy" with a target price of $4,800.00.
• AutoZone reported earnings per share (EPS) of $35.36 for the recent quarter, missing expectations, though its revenue increased by 5.4% year-over-year to $4.46 billion.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 48.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174 shares of the company's stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in AutoZone were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 30.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,540,000 after buying an additional 24,933 shares during the last quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 18.2% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 39 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 3.2% during the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $36.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $4,000.59. 95,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,047. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,742.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,651.77. The company has a market cap of $67.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,898.57 and a 12 month high of $4,094.69.

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