Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 44 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,018 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in AutoZone by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,433.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,257.92. The company has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.