Telemus Capital LLC Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Telemus Capital LLC lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Telemus Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,521,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,259,055,000 after acquiring an additional 10,791 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in AutoZone by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 466,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $998,521,000 after acquiring an additional 11,713 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 24.6% during the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 141,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,731,000 after buying an additional 28,025 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 106,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,082,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.4% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 93,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,746,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.12% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $2,365.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2,452.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,386.42. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.69. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,703.32 and a fifty-two week high of $2,610.05.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $24.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $21.33 by $3.31. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.32% and a negative return on equity of 64.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $22.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 127.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,400.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 244 shares in the company, valued at $585,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,400.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 244 shares in the company, valued at $585,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 29,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,427.27, for a total transaction of $71,631,164.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,825 shares in the company, valued at $35,984,277.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,872 shares of company stock worth $94,603,027 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,520.00 to $2,782.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,260.00 to $2,540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Guggenheim raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $2,735.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,450.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,652.76.

AutoZone Company Profile

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AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.