Comerica Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Comerica Bank sold 423 shares of AutoZone, reducing its stake by 9.9%, bringing its total holdings to 3,839 shares valued at approximately $14.64 million.
• AutoZone recently reported $35.36 earnings per share, missing estimates, but had a revenue of $4.46 billion, slightly above predictions.
• In recent analyst ratings, AutoZone received a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average price target of approximately $4,101.29 from various firms.

Comerica Bank lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,839 shares of the company's stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in AutoZone were worth $14,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,967,000 after acquiring an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after acquiring an additional 24,701 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after acquiring an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price objective (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,101.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,460,434.78. This represents a 64.88% 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 link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,250 shares of company stock valued at $116,321,123 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2%

AZO traded up $8.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,205.60. 89,713 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 105,104. The firm has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's fifty day moving average is $3,867.16 and its 200 day moving average is $3,716.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,898.57 and a one year high of $4,229.68.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for 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%. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.