B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Trims Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 279 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 39.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 37 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in AutoZone by 4.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 5.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 18,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,030,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 20.0% during the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,360.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,370.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,155.07 and a 200 day moving average of $3,066.94. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company 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.