AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Wexford Capital LP

Wexford Capital LP decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 29.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,308.39 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,313.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,128.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,043.20. The company has a market cap of $55.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,232.88.

AutoZone 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.