Focus Financial Network Inc. Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 105 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 128.6% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,762 shares of company stock worth $147,189,762. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,634.34 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,792.14 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,695.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,506.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on AutoZone and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,072.24.

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.