Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Acquires 104 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 261 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 3.5 %

AZO opened at $3,561.95 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,704.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,383.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,236.73. The company has a market cap of $59.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.