West Family Investments Inc. Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

West Family Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 60.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91 shares of the company's stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 435,031.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,421,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $834,556,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in AutoZone by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock worth $655,840,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,603,000 after acquiring an additional 36,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $33.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $3,648.87. The company had a trading volume of 96,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,472. The firm has a market cap of $61.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,894.02 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,701.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,570.51.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 price objective (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.