Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 287 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 747 shares of the company's stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,658.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,649.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,398.25. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,821.91.

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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