Pitcairn Co. Decreases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.0 %

AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,111.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,029.01. The company has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

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.