Insider Selling: AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP Sells 1,580 Shares of Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $7.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3,196.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 115,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,299. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,116.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,011.32. The company has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,375.35 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 54.58% and a net margin of 14.60%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,169.38.

About AutoZone

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.