Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 71.2%, leaving it with only 108 shares valued at approximately $401,000.
• Analysts have mixed forecasts for AutoZone, with a recent downgrade from Zacks to a "strong sell", while BNP Paribas Exane raised its target price significantly, suggesting a potential for growth.
• AutoZone reported disappointing quarterly earnings, missing estimates with earnings per share of $48.71, compared to the consensus of $50.52, despite a slight year-over-year revenue increase of 0.6%.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 71.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108 shares of the company's stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $4,850.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,544.68.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $4,076.62 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4,149.74 and a 200 day moving average of $3,857.25. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.