Bank of Montreal Can Sells 34,065 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,026 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,065 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.32% of AutoZone worth $172,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,204,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded up $40.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,656.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 144,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,377. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,556.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,326.80. The stock has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.