BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 1,201 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 86.7%, owning 2,587 shares worth approximately $9.86 million after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for AutoZone, with Evercore ISI raising its target from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00, leading to a consensus target price of $4,101.29.
• Insider trading activity has shown significant sales, with Vice President Richard Craig Smith selling 3,000 shares worth over $11.6 million and Chairman William C. Rhodes III selling 27,500 shares for roughly $102 million, marking substantial decreases in their respective positions.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 86.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,587 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in AutoZone were worth $9,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,967,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock worth $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock worth $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,421,000 after purchasing an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% in 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. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,101.29.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AZO traded down $23.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $4,104.35. 119,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,413. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,809.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,690.97. The company has a market cap of $68.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,898.57 and a 1 year high of $4,187.39.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.