Coho Partners Ltd. Sells 6,953 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Coho Partners Ltd. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,128 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,953 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises approximately 3.7% of Coho Partners Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Coho Partners Ltd. owned 0.10% of AutoZone worth $61,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th 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. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,030,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 97 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 48 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,912 shares of company stock worth $136,901,262 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,644.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,698.71 and a 200-day moving average of $3,523.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,801.49 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company 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 business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price target (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,072.24.

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.

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