abrdn plc Purchases 2,884 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

abrdn plc raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 64.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $19,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $2,988.51 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,020.17 and a 200 day moving average of $2,768.74.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $24.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total transaction of $13,247,439.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares in the company, valued at $2,845,512. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of AutoZone 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 completion of the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush raised their price target on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

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.