Conning Inc. Sells 134 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Conning Inc. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 60.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86 shares of the company's stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $834,556,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company's stock worth $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock worth $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $189,483,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.5%

AZO stock traded down $18.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,667.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,305. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,801.49 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3,701.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,544.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. AutoZone's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, May 19th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

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.