Summit Global Investments Sells 97 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Summit Global Investments decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 53.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85 shares of the company's stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in AutoZone were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,030,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 202 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,478,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AZO. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson boosted 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 report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,054.52.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO traded up $5.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3,722.63. The company had a trading volume of 23,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,077. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3,697.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,479.05. The company has a market capitalization of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,753.61 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,973 shares of company stock valued at $51,346,997. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.