BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Trims Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 463 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.05% of AutoZone worth $27,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company's stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company's stock worth $446,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $424,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded down $20.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,169.54. The company had a trading volume of 93,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,213. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,121.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,037.24. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $46.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.