Crewe Advisors LLC Buys 7 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,510.00 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,111.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,029.28.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone 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.