Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 68 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 is available through this link. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 is available through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,997 shares of company stock worth $61,108,338. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,085.04 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2,953.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,720.63. The company has a market cap of $53.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $24.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. TheStreet lowered AutoZone from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,089.61.

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.