Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in AutoZone by 7.0%, selling 11,477 shares and now holding approximately 151,612 shares valued at $578 million.
• Wall Street analysts have set a consensus price target for AutoZone at $4,087.00, with various firms such as JPMorgan raising their price targets significantly.
• Insider trading activity saw Chairman William C. Rhodes III selling 27,500 shares, resulting in a 76.29% decrease in his position, while CFO Jamere Jackson also made substantial sales.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,612 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,477 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.90% of AutoZone worth $578,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock worth $13,647,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock worth $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock worth $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $60.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,856.85. 79,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,739. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,898.57 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,709.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,603.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.