AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stake Lessened by Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $2,973.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,998.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,754.16. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.