Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 561 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of AutoZone worth $155,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,072.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,606.82 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,801.49 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $3,694.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,533.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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