AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 7.8%, owning approximately 0.16% of the company worth $97.2 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for AutoZone, with Barclays increasing it to $4,610 and UBS Group setting a target of $4,925, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy" for the stock.
• Insider transactions included VP Richard Craig Smith selling 3,000 shares for over $11.6 million, resulting in a significant decrease in his ownership percentage.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,190 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.16% of AutoZone worth $97,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,038.00 to $4,504.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,260.00 to $4,925.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,800.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,449.18.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $34.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $4,086.92. The stock had a trading volume of 179,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,069. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4,041.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,805.01. The stock has a market cap of $68.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%.The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $51.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.