Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 504 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Morse Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,045 shares of the company's stock after selling 504 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises about 2.0% of Morse Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock worth $13,647,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO traded down $55.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,717.76. The stock had a trading volume of 39,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,342. The stock has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,894.02 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,702.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,582.14.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,862 shares of company stock valued at $114,431,089 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZO. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price target (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

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.