HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,656 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,656 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.24% of AutoZone worth $127,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,561.95 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,704.43. The business's fifty day moving average is $3,383.15 and its 200 day moving average is $3,236.73. The stock has a market cap of $59.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.

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