HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 3,030 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 41,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,030 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $130,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after buying an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,178.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,121.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,037.24. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.