Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,195 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,485.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,696.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,529.06. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,801.49 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $4,000.00 price objective (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,072.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.