Raymond James Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in AutoZone by 2.9%, now owning approximately 0.34% of the company's stock worth $219.18 million after selling 1,691 shares in the first quarter.
• Meanwhile, GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its stake in AutoZone by 435,031.1%, acquiring over 770,000 shares worth nearly $2.94 billion.
• Recent analyst upgrades from firms such as Evercore ISI and Morgan Stanley set the price target for AutoZone shares between $3,950.00 and $4,600.00, indicating a general market optimism with a consensus rating of "Buy".

Raymond James Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,485 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,691 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of AutoZone worth $219,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in AutoZone by 7.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock worth $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock worth $655,603,000 after acquiring an additional 36,916 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,480,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 price target (up from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price target (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,007.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $67.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,898.57 and a 12-month high of $4,094.69. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $3,765.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,670.49.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,460,434.78. This represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.