Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in AutoZone by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 101,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,780,000 after purchasing an additional 21,635 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at $545,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 714.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 2.4%

AZO stock opened at $3,606.82 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,801.49 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The company has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,694.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,533.48.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AZO shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,072.24.

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.