Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 55 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 51.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,360.47.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,370.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3,155.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,066.94. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.