Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 132.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 484 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO traded down $6.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,718.93. 98,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,754. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,693.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,487.09. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,760.00 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,072.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,398 shares of company stock worth $45,676,997. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.