AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC

Key Points

• Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 3.3%, now holding 7,093 shares valued at approximately $27 million.
• AutoZone reported $35.36 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, but achieved a revenue of $4.46 billion, surpassing forecasts.
• Analysts have mostly rated AutoZone as a "Buy", with several raising their price targets, now averaging around $4,087.00.

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,093 shares of the company's stock after selling 240 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up about 2.4% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $27,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 91.7% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 23 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 4.2% during the first quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 773 shares of the company's stock worth $2,947,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 2.0% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 650 shares of the company's stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the company's stock worth $5,388,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the company's stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AZO shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $35.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3,807.40. The company had a trading volume of 71,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,911. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $3,919.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,708.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,607.04. The firm has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.