Castleview Partners LLC Has $1.25 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Castleview Partners LLC decreased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 327 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for approximately 0.8% of Castleview Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Castleview Partners LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,072.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,912 shares of company stock valued at $136,901,262. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,644.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,698.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,521.61. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,801.49 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.