State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $26,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in AutoZone by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.0% in the third quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3 %

AZO stock traded down $40.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2,948.40. The stock had a trading volume of 236,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,333. The firm has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,020.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,768.74. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year 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, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $24.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone 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.