Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC has increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 8.6% in Q1, owning 2,540 shares valued at nearly $9.7 million.
• Greg Nazareth traded 33,862 shares of AutoZone stock, with Chairman William C. Rhodes III selling 27,500 shares for over $101 million, marking a 76.29% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on AutoZone, with a consensus average price target of $4,087.00, reflecting strong buy ratings from the majority of research firms.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,540 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. 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. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 price target (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4%

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

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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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