Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 3.5% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned 0.14% of AutoZone worth $61,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors 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 in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $4.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,977.43. The company had a trading volume of 39,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,373. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2,998.95 and its 200 day moving average is $2,754.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,845,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

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.