AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock Holdings Lowered by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,291 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,517 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.14% of AutoZone worth $92,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded down $7.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3,650.70. 79,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,700. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,792.14 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $3,689.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,499.76.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,262 shares of company stock valued at $45,194,187. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,072.24.

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.