Unigestion Holding SA Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Unigestion Holding SA lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 48.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,996 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,845 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,973 shares of company stock valued at $51,346,997 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $3.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3,720.46. The company had a trading volume of 84,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,235. The stock has a market cap of $62.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,697.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,479.05. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,750.53 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price objective (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,054.52.

AutoZone Company 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.