Avestar Capital LLC Has $1.41 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 446 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,308,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in AutoZone by 232.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,252,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $249,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,116.96 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,111.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,030.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,510.00 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during 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%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.