Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,907 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of AutoZone worth $69,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in AutoZone by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE AZO traded down $40.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,110.12. 145,833 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,930. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $3,112.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,018.16.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.