Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Sells 146 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109 shares of the company's stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 27 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3,964.9% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 3,821 shares of the company's stock worth $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,791,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the company's stock worth $3,340,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,756.09 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $3,623.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,382.68. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,814.91.

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.

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