Seizert Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Seizert Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 91.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,052 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.2% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4,090.00 to $4,262.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $4,741.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,547.56.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,804.83 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,036.40 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market cap of $63.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,984.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,892.09.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,400. This represents a 41.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 over the last quarter. 2.60% 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.