KCM Investment Advisors LLC Sells 12 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Motco bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $158,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $19.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,116.43. 18,755 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 138,233. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,112.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,023.33. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone 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.