AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in AutoZone by 1.1%, selling 572 shares, and now holds a total of 50,402 shares valued at approximately $192 million.
• Several large investors, including Blue Trust Inc. and Comerica Bank, have recently increased their holdings in AutoZone, highlighting ongoing interest from institutional investors who now own 92.74% of the company.
• Analysts have generally positive views on AutoZone, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and several firms increasing their price targets significantly, with Bank of America setting it at $4,800.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,402 shares of the company's stock after selling 572 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.30% of AutoZone worth $192,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZO. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 321 shares of the company's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company's stock worth $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $4,438,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,101.29.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, 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 value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO traded down $23.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4,104.35. 119,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,413. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,187.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50 day moving average price is $3,809.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,690.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $36.69 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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.