Greenleaf Trust Decreases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Greenleaf Trust decreased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 166.7% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO traded up $12.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,985.54. 114,397 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,587. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,005.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,757.38. The firm has a market cap of $51.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $24.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.