Holocene Advisors LP Decreases Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Holocene Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 72.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,899 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $104,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6 %

AZO stock opened at $3,169.54 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,121.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,037.24. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $53.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.