Bleakley Financial Group LLC Trims Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 166.7% during the 3rd quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet lowered shares of AutoZone from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,089.61.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,006.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2,985.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,740.95. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market cap of $52.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $24.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,583 shares of company stock valued at $60,056,012. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.