AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) is Clio Asset Management LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Clio Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,827 shares of the company's stock after selling 402 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up approximately 11.6% of Clio Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Clio Asset Management LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $14,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $2,936,535,000 after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 valued at $1,039,421,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $834,556,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock worth $655,840,000 after buying an additional 26,036 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AZO. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley restated 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,072.24.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,912 shares of company stock valued at $136,901,262 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded up $40.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,644.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 206,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,329. The company has a market cap of $61.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3,698.71 and its 200 day moving average is $3,523.91. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,801.49 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.