Hancock Whitney Corp Reduces Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 75.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,170 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,586 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO traded up $10.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $3,619.52. 87,102 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,907. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market cap of $60.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3,591.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,362.38.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,724.00.

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.