Northern Trust Corp Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

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Northern Trust Corp cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,562 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,186 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.19% of AutoZone worth $760,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 321 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in AutoZone by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 138 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in AutoZone by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE AZO traded down $23.34 on Friday, reaching $4,104.35. 119,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,413. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,898.57 and a one year high of $4,187.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $3,809.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,690.97.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,101.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Company 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.