B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 63 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,169.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,149.72 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,125.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,011.61. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Profile

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.