Shelton Capital Management Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Shelton Capital Management lowered its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth $25,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $27,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 166.7% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Oppenheimer cut shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $2,850.00 to $2,600.00 in a research report on Friday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $2,975.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,425.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,740.00 to $2,750.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2,975.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,793.95.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.2 %

AZO opened at $2,627.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $2,750.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $2,557.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,524.21.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 19th. The company reported $46.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.51 by $1.95. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.48% and a negative return on equity of 60.66%. The company had revenue of $5.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $40.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 147.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, SVP Preston Frazer sold 6,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,476.97, for a total value of $16,729,455.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,171.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Preston Frazer sold 6,754 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,476.97, for a total transaction of $16,729,455.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,171.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,548.03, for a total value of $305,763.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 156 shares in the company, valued at $397,492.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,069 shares of company stock valued at $30,651,562. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.