Assetmark Inc. Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Assetmark Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 86.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,292 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 16.2% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter worth about $309,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 105.9% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,400. This trade represents a 41.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Gabelli reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,672.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,062.06 and a 200 day moving average of $3,882.62. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,036.40 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.