Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during 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 last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,553.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3,401.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,244.10. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Company 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.