Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $161,000 Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 51.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,370.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,155.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,066.94. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,416.71. The company has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,360.47.

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.