Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $13,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business’s 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 owns 159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,262 shares of company stock valued at $45,194,187 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AZO. Roth Mkm increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $4,072.24.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,692.96 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,765.82 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,691.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,497.21.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS 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.