Spire Wealth Management Has $1.90 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Spire Wealth Management cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 98.3% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,127,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in AutoZone by 266.7% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Night Squared LP bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the first quarter worth $2,860,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,708.78 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4,113.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,881.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total transaction of $1,132,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This represents a 97.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,693 shares of company stock valued at $23,259,891 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZO. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,750.00 target price (down previously from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,544.68.

About AutoZone

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.