PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $163.58 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in AutoZone by 0.8%, totaling 42,904 shares valued at approximately $163.58 million.
• Research analysts are optimistic about AutoZone, with two analysts rating it as hold, nineteen as buy, and three as strong buy, alongside varying price targets up to $4,350.00.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by VP Richard Craig Smith and Chairman William C. Rhodes III, with Rhodes selling 27,500 shares, representing a 76.29% decrease in his ownership.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,904 shares of the company's stock after selling 358 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.26% of AutoZone worth $163,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,560,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Headland Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 8.0% in the first quarter. Headland Capital LLC now owns 108 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in AutoZone by 5.1% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 124 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 843.6% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,675,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $21.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4,032.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,532. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,898.57 and a 52 week high of $4,048.00. The stock has a market cap of $67.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,716.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,628.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

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.