Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,300 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,261 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $27,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,421,000 after purchasing an additional 17,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $834,556,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock worth $655,840,000 after purchasing an additional 26,036 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $40.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $3,644.12. 206,069 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,329. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,801.49 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $3,698.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,526.24.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,072.24.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value 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 trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,912 shares of company stock valued at $136,901,262. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.