Syon Capital LLC Reduces Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Syon Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,601.76 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,586.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,355.64. The company has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.