Employees Retirement System of Texas Sells 300 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,777 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.12% of AutoZone worth $67,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 387.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,832,000 after purchasing an additional 61,821 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,730,000 after purchasing an additional 50,071 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,059,000 after purchasing an additional 45,212 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 401.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,247,000 after buying an additional 41,467 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,711,912,000 after buying an additional 26,544 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,826,568.64. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

More AutoZone News

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoZone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AutoZone reported adjusted EPS of $38.07, topping analyst estimates, and total revenue rose 8.4% year over year to about $4.84 billion, showing the core business remains healthy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Domestic momentum was a bright spot, with same-store sales up 4.1% and commercial/DIY demand still resilient, supporting confidence that repair demand is holding up despite a mixed consumer backdrop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: On the earnings call, management sounded cautious, saying growth is being offset by accounting-related and margin headwinds, which may limit how much investors reward the beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in slightly below Wall Street expectations, and several reports say the selloff was driven by that miss rather than the EPS beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to gross-margin compression, a non-cash LIFO accounting hit, and weaker international performance, which pressured sentiment despite strong sales growth. Article Title

AutoZone Trading Down 9.0%

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,100.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,448.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,579.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.43. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3,001.00 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $35.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 149.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,650.00 to $4,526.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird cut AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,290.91.

AutoZone 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.