AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for approximately 4.1% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $16,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 8.3% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,056,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 3,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,681,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Director Brian Hannasch acquired 147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, for a total transaction of $498,784.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,264,152.58. The trade was a 18.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total transaction of $324,173.03. Following the sale, the director owned 3,564 shares in the company, valued at $11,910,852.36. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 347 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares valued at $34,179,923. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE AZO opened at $3,681.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,550.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,848.49.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $32.69 by ($1.65). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,296.25.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do?it?yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.