Cynosure Group LLC Cuts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Cynosure Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,811.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3,515.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,294.29. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,842.82.

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

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.