Private Management Group Inc. Sells 1,967 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,967 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $15,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 74.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,961.04. The stock had a trading volume of 81,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,646. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,014.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,767.20. The firm has a market cap of $51.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on AZO shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 over the last three months. Company 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.