AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Marshfield Associates

Key Points

• Marshfield Associates reduced its stake in AutoZone by 0.3%, now holding 169,809 shares, which represents 14.0% of their investment portfolio.
• Several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co., significantly increased their investments in AutoZone, highlighting strong institutional confidence in the stock.
• Equities analysts have raised AutoZone's price targets, with Bank of America increasing its target from $3,900 to $4,800, contributing to a consensus "Buy" rating for the stock.

Marshfield Associates trimmed its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,809 shares of the company's stock after selling 471 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 14.0% of Marshfield Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Marshfield Associates owned about 1.01% of AutoZone worth $647,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after buying an additional 770,005 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $95,480,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock worth $655,840,000 after purchasing an additional 26,036 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Bank of America raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price target on AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price target (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,101.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,250 shares of company stock worth $116,321,123 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $4,205.60 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,229.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3,867.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,718.34.

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.

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