Wambolt & Associates LLC Acquires 8 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 90 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.5 %

AZO stock opened at $3,675.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,704.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,450.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,267.24.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

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.