KBC Group NV Buys 1,845 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,350 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,845 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of AutoZone worth $35,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% during 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in AutoZone by 5.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $834,556,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. 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 firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,606.82 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $3,694.76 and its 200 day moving average is $3,534.79. The company has a market cap of $60.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,801.49 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $36.69 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,072.24.

About AutoZone

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.