AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $38,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,234,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 65.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,324,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 15,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,477,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 8,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,606,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho began coverage on AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $9.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,952.20. 101,882 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,209. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,048.03 and its 200-day moving average is $2,783.78. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $24.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AutoZone

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.