Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Has $57.17 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,994 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,409 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up approximately 2.8% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of AutoZone worth $57,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AZO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 valued at $1,039,421,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in AutoZone by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after acquiring an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AutoZone by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,603,000 after acquiring an additional 36,916 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total transaction of $9,737,666.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $26.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3,702.16. 105,635 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,844. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,704.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,561.04. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,894.02 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market cap of $62.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

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.