Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Sells 249 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 588 shares of the company's stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO traded down $26.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,702.16. The stock had a trading volume of 105,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,764. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,894.02 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,704.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,561.04. The firm has a market cap of $62.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.