Sapient Capital LLC Sells 6 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sapient Capital LLC cut its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in AutoZone by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,647,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,383,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,718,000 after acquiring an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,762 shares of company stock valued at $147,189,762 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,675.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,792.14 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3,693.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,503.61.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,072.24.

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.