Toroso Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Toroso Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in AutoZone by 368.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,242,000 after acquiring an additional 323,536 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $88,576,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in AutoZone by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 141,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,731,000 after acquiring an additional 28,025 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone by 297.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 32,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,146,000 after acquiring an additional 24,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on AutoZone from $2,260.00 to $2,540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Bank of America lowered AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on AutoZone from $1,950.00 to $2,360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,450.00 to $2,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,652.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,511.63, for a total value of $3,955,817.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $617,860.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 29,511 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,427.27, for a total transaction of $71,631,164.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,825 shares in the company, valued at $35,984,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,511.63, for a total value of $3,955,817.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,860.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,872 shares of company stock worth $94,603,027 in the last quarter. 2.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $2,413.32 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,703.32 and a fifty-two week high of $2,610.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,454.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,383.32. The stock has a market cap of $45.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The company reported $24.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $21.33 by $3.31. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 64.72% and a net margin of 14.32%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $22.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 127.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoZone Profile

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AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.