AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Stake Reduced by Coho Partners Ltd.

Coho Partners Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,686 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,442 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for approximately 3.8% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $50,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research downgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,004.42 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,151.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,863.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $51.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoZone Company 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.