LRI Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

LRI Investments LLC reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 46.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $63,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $4,094.61 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,980.10 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4,152.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,859.75.

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

AutoZone announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.