American Trust Sells 76 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

American Trust reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) by 43.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. RB Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $274,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Roundview Capital LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 8.1% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 426 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 31.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in AutoZone by 24.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares in the last quarter. 91.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $2,365.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2,452.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,384.69. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,703.32 and a 52 week high of $2,610.05. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $24.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.33 by $3.31. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.32% and a negative return on equity of 64.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $22.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 127.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,400.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 244 shares in the company, valued at $585,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,441.21, for a total value of $336,886.98. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,764 shares in the company, valued at $9,188,714.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,400.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 244 shares in the company, valued at $585,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,872 shares of company stock worth $94,603,027. 2.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Bank of America lowered shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,600.00 to $2,650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Barclays started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $2,663.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2,735.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,260.00 to $2,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,652.76.

AutoZone Profile

(Get Rating)

AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.