Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Buys 170 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 730 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 166.7% during the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target on the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,080.72.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, COO Thomas B. Newbern sold 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,551.62, for a total value of $19,902,636.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,427,530.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,797 shares of company stock valued at $81,010,974. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $41.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,151.65. The company had a trading volume of 173,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,714. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2,921.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,702.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $24.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.