LPL Financial LLC Lowers Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. by 5.1% in Q1, owning 11,262 shares valued at approximately $42.9 million after selling 607 shares during the quarter.
• In the fourth quarter, other institutional investors, such as Brighton Jones LLC and Huntington National Bank, increased their stakes in AutoZone while 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
• AutoZone reported a $35.36 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations and experiencing a 5.4% year-over-year revenue growth to $4.46 billion.

LPL Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 607 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of AutoZone worth $42,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This represents a 64.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $89.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,858.37. The company had a trading volume of 104,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,577. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,898.57 and a twelve month high of $3,919.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,707.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,620.79.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 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 business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. DA Davidson lifted their target price on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 price target (up from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.