First Trust Advisors LP Sells 1,490 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,860 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,490 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $18,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $799,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 0.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,521,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,259,055,000 after purchasing an additional 10,791 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 16,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,830,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Strategic Partners lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% in the third quarter. Buckingham Strategic Partners now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 91.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,479.29, for a total transaction of $2,975,148.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,800 shares in the company, valued at $9,421,302. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,479.29, for a total value of $2,975,148.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,421,302. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,431.95, for a total value of $9,241,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,053,658.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $22,971,862. Company insiders own 2.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on AutoZone to $2,800.00 in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Guggenheim raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2,735.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,563.00 to $2,899.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,350.00 to $2,600.00 in a report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,652.76.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $2,422.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $2,456.81 and its 200-day moving average is $2,377.16. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,703.32 and a 1 year high of $2,610.05.

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

AutoZone Company Profile

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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.