AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock Holdings Cut by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 89.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $83,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,651.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,591.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,420.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,252.77. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market cap of $60.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone Company 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.