Rathbones Group PLC Sells 1,200 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in AutoZone by 13.9% in Q4, selling 1,200 shares and ending the period with 7,440 shares valued at $25.233 million.
• AutoZone VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares on Jan. 23 at an average price of $3,700 for about $21.87 million, cutting his position by 69.23% to 2,627 shares.
• Analysts remain largely positive — MarketBeat shows 1 Strong Buy, 21 Buy and 6 Hold with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $4,312.13; AZO trades around $3,398.84 with a $56.01B market cap and a P/E of 23.81.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $25,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at approximately $356,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,014,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.8% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 248 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $21,867,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,719,900. This trade represents a 69.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,700.00 to $4,500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE AZO opened at $3,398.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $3,618.87 and its 200 day moving average is $3,708.77. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,210.72 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $28.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc NYSE: AZO is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.