Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 529 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 52.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 473 shares of the company's stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.1%

AZO opened at $3,641.53 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,652.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,408.36.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,821.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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