Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in AutoZone by 15.3% in the second quarter, leaving the firm with 411 shares valued at approximately $1.53 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also changed their positions in AutoZone, with 92.74% of shares currently owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Despite a slight miss in quarterly earnings, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average target price of $4,538.21.

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 411 shares of the company's stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 66.7% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $44,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $4,741.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,538.21.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

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

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $4,076.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $4,137.72 and its 200-day moving average is $3,850.01.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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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