First Horizon Corp Acquires New Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,038,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,698,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 19.1% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth approximately $1,206,000. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in AutoZone by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,499.00 to $4,076.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,550.00 price objective (down from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,310.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total transaction of $823,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,665. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and have sold 3,180 shares worth $12,465,312. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,523.14 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $3,162.00 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,616.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,857.74.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $32.69 by ($1.65). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.78% and a negative return on equity of 65.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $32.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.