Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 464 shares of the company's stock after selling 192 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 16.5% during the first quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 162 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 29 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 343 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 132.7% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth about $1,311,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AZO. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,054.52.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,973 shares of company stock worth $51,346,997 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $30.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,717.74. The company had a trading volume of 95,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,471. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,750.53 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $3,698.72 and its 200 day moving average is $3,477.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 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 company'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 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.