HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 3,030 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,030 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.25% of AutoZone worth $130,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,341.00 to $3,501.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,178.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3,121.25 and its 200-day moving average is $3,037.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $46.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.