Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 55,912 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,912 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $285,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,688,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 110 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $687,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,775.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $4,004.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4,151.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,863.56. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40.

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

AutoZone declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.