Foster & Motley Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in AutoZone by 8.3% during the second quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 130 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 8.0% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 94 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 15.3% during the second quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,941,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.4% during the second quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $4,031.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4,150.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,865.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11.

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

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president 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.

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.