Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 3.6%, owning 2,532 shares valued at $9.65 million as of the last quarter.
• Several significant analysts have upgraded their price targets for AutoZone, with a consensus rating of "Buy"' and an average price target of $4,087.
• Insider trading activity was notable, with senior executives selling a total of 33,862 shares valued at approximately $126 million in the last ninety days.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,532 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 30.0% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,819.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,898.57 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,711.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,597.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $36.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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