Elm3 Financial Group LLC Sells 4 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Elm3 Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4 shares during the period. Elm3 Financial Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 4.3% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 124.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research lowered AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,173.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4,133.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,848.42. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,980.10 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

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

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.