Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $10,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its position in AutoZone by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in AutoZone by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 42,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 shares were 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 $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $8.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $2,969.66. 26,579 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,881. The company has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,010.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,764.30.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.