Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,929,000 after buying an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in AutoZone by 349.5% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 74,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,190,000 after purchasing an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter worth about $151,595,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total transaction of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55 shares in the company, valued at $221,148.40. The trade was a 97.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891 over the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,823.08 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,036.40 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,993.94 and a 200 day moving average of $3,892.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $51.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 8th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4,090.00 to $4,262.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Gabelli reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,551.56.

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.