Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $22.67 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,196 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,690 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the 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 owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, 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.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.9 %

AutoZone stock traded down $60.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3,106.91. 106,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,499. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,113.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,026.55.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $46.46 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.