Candriam S.C.A. Has $8.33 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. significantly reduced its stake in AutoZone by 61.3% during the first quarter, holding 2,184 shares valued at approximately $8.33 million at the end of the reporting period.
• AutoZone reported $35.36 EPS for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $37.07, but its revenue increased by 5.4% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for AutoZone, with price targets ranging from $4,000 to $4,800, reflecting strong investor interest in the stock.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 61.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,184 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,453 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in AutoZone by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,974 shares of the company's stock worth $163,214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Natixis bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $285,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in AutoZone by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,475 shares of the company's stock worth $11,128,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in AutoZone by 5.7% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $4,128.6070 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,898.57 and a twelve month high of $4,187.39. The firm has a market cap of $69.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3,800.17 and a 200-day moving average of $3,686.55.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%.AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was 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 valued at $126,058,789 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,060.00 to $4,250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 price objective (up from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,101.29.

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.

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