Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. by 14.7% in the second quarter, owning 2,137 shares valued at approximately $7.93 million after selling 369 shares.
• AutoZone's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $48.71, missing estimates by $1.81, with a net margin of 13.19% for the quarter.
• The company's board approved a share repurchase plan indicating confidence in the stock's value, alongside significant insider selling activities in recent months.

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,137 shares of the company's stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company's stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,970.01 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $4,149.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,867.94. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,980.10 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $51.58 earnings per share. AutoZone's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4,750.00 price objective (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $4,741.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,544.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,393 shares of company stock worth $33,755,091 in the last ninety days. 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.

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