HCR Wealth Advisors Sells 186 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

HCR Wealth Advisors lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for 0.7% of HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,072.24.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,912 shares of company stock worth $136,901,262. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,599.90 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,801.49 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,699.42 and its 200-day moving average is $3,515.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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.