DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Acquires 88 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,447 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.09% of AutoZone worth $58,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,454,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 321 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in AutoZone in the first quarter worth approximately $63,105,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AZO. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:AZO traded up $5.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3,747.33. 83,515 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,175. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,705.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,553.46. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,802.79 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. AutoZone's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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.