Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 32 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in AutoZone by 5.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,040,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in AutoZone by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 15,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,742,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 4.4% in the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,396.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,322.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,209.45. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,708.09 and a 52-week high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,429.84.

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.