Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The principal market on which our common stock is traded is the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AZO.” On October 18, 2021, there were 1,936 stockholders of record, which does not include the number of beneficial owners whose shares were represented by security position listings.
We currently do not pay a dividend on our common stock. Our ability to pay dividends is subject to limitations imposed by Nevada law. Any future payment of dividends would be dependent upon our financial condition, capital requirements, earnings and cash flow.
During 1998, the Company announced a program permitting the Company to repurchase a portion of its outstanding shares not to exceed a dollar maximum established by the Company’s Board of Directors. The program was most recently amended on October 5, 2021, to increase the repurchase authorization by $1.5 billion, bringing the total value of authorized share repurchases to $27.65 billion.
Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, we restarted our share repurchases under our share repurchase program, which had been temporarily suspended during fiscal 2020 in response to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to evaluate current and expected business conditions and adjust the level of share repurchases under our share repurchase program as we deem appropriate.
Shares of common stock repurchased by the Company during the quarter ended August 28, 2021 were as follows:
Period
Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average Price Paid per Share
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
Maximum Dollar Value that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
May 9, 2021 to June 5, 2021
119,391
$
1,463.82
119,391
$
1,142,800,316
June 6, 2021 to July 3, 2021
179,195
1,420.00
179,195
888,343,302
July 4, 2021 to July 31, 2021
164,072
1,580.00
164,072
629,109,159
August 1, 2021 to August 28, 2021
129,802
1,629.71
129,802
417,569,204
Total
592,460
$
1,519.09
592,460
$
417,569,204
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The Company also repurchased, at market value, an additional 7,611, 8,287 and 17,201 shares in fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, from employees electing to sell their stock under the Company’s Sixth Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Employee Plan”), qualified under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code, under which all eligible employees may purchase AutoZone’s common stock at 85% of the lower of the market price of the common stock on the first day or last day of each calendar quarter through payroll deductions. Maximum permitted annual purchases are $15,000 per employee or 10 percent of compensation, whichever is less. Under the Employee Plan, 8,479, 10,525 and 11,011 shares were sold to employees in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. At August 28, 2021, 133,762 shares of common stock were reserved for future issuance under the Employee Plan.
Once executives have reached the maximum purchases under the Employee Plan, the Sixth Amended and Restated Executive Stock Purchase Plan (the “Executive Plan”) permits all eligible executives to purchase AutoZone’s common stock up to 25 percent of his or her annual salary and bonus. Purchases by executives under the Executive Plan were 997, 1,204 and 1,483 shares in fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. At August 28, 2021, 234,364 shares of common stock were reserved for future issuance under the Executive Plan.
Stock Performance Graph
The graph below presents changes in the value of AutoZone’s stock as compared to Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Index (“S&P 500”) and to Standard & Poor’s Retail Index (“S&P Retail Index”) for the five-year period beginning August 27, 2016 and ending August 28, 2021.
Item 6. Reserved
Not required.
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