Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 60%, holding only 221 shares valued at $820,000 after selling 332 shares in the second quarter.
• Despite the decrease in Atria's holdings, Blue Trust Inc. and Banco Santander S.A. increased their investments in AutoZone during the same quarter, reflecting ongoing institutional interest.
• A recent earnings report revealed that AutoZone missed consensus estimates for earnings per share and revenue, but equities analysts remain optimistic with a consensus target price of $4,544.68 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 60.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221 shares of the company's stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% in the first quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 7,761 shares of the company's stock worth $29,591,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company's stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $545,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 19.3% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the company's stock worth $6,127,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $4,741.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $4,031.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $4,150.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,865.45.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $51.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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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