Walter Public Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Walter Public Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,963 shares of the company's stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up 5.0% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $26,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 30.0% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.5%

AutoZone stock traded down $55.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,734.73. 108,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,240. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,705.07 and a 200 day moving average of $3,552.20. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,802.79 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market capitalization of $62.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. 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. Bank of America raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 target price (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $1,460,434.78. This represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.