AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after acquiring an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 259,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,309,000 after purchasing an additional 11,104 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded up $27.47 on Wednesday, reaching $2,988.51. 103,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,312. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,014.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,767.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $24.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.