Portfolio Design Labs LLC Sells 94 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 43.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 123 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AZO shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,049.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,112.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,027.79. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were 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 owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % 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 in the last quarter. Company 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.