Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $678,350,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 341.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 159,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,582,000 after acquiring an additional 123,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,780,000 after acquiring an additional 58,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2,945.98. The company had a trading volume of 115,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,387. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,029.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,772.66.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $24.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Company 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.