Insider Selling: AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) CEO Sells $7,600,020.00 in Stock

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,769.72 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,838.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,483.80 and its 200 day moving average is $3,280.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.