Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 25.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,596,000 after acquiring an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,161.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,510.00 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,112.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,021.55.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

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.