Farmers Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Farmers Trust Co. cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,400.32.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $35.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,295.35. 47,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,579. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,195.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,118.13.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone 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.