AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $2,990.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,010.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,764.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 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.