FORA Capital LLC Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC sold 1,751 shares of AutoZone, decreasing its holdings by 61.9%, and now owns 1,078 shares worth approximately $4.11 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded AutoZone's stock ratings recently, with Bank of America raising its price target to $4,800.00 from $3,900.00, indicating positive market sentiment.
• AutoZone reported $35.36 EPS for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07, while revenue increased by 5.4% year over year to $4.46 billion.

FORA Capital LLC lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 61.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,078 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,751 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in AutoZone by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,647,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 10.1% during the first quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,954 shares of the company's stock worth $11,267,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $8.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $4,205.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,838. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,898.57 and a 52 week high of $4,229.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,855.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,711.17. The stock has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.38.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business 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%.The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,250 shares of company stock worth $116,321,123 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,101.29.

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.