Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 589 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,091 shares of the company’s stock after selling 589 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $91,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in AutoZone by 30.7% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 7.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,352,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO traded down $22.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,130.96. 85,433 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,152. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,132.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,010.58. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,425.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% 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.