Atria Investments Inc Sells 339 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Atria Investments Inc lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 371,123.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,472,724,000 after buying an additional 935,230 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $981,202,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 277.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 102,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,037,000 after buying an additional 75,382 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1,185.5% in the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 64,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,126,000 after acquiring an additional 59,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 36.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 153,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,329,000 after purchasing an additional 40,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,600.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research lowered AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,850.00 to $4,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on AutoZone from $4,775.00 to $4,200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,271.25.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,850.57 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,538.96 and a 200-day moving average of $3,845.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $32.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $21,867,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares in the company, valued at $9,719,900. The trade was a 69.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Hannasch acquired 147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, with a total value of $498,784.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,264,152.58. The trade was a 18.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders acquired 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.