Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Increases Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 16.8%, acquiring an additional 314 shares in the first quarter, raising its total holdings to 2,183 shares.
• Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone on June 10th, resulting in a 76.29% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• AutoZone recently reported earnings that missed expectations, posting an EPS of $35.36 compared to the consensus estimate of $37.07, even as revenue increased 5.4% year-over-year.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,183 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up 2.0% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in AutoZone by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 204,748 shares of the company's stock worth $655,603,000 after acquiring an additional 36,916 shares during the period. Finally, Marshfield Associates grew its holdings in AutoZone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 170,280 shares of the company's stock worth $545,238,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. The trade was a 85.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:AZO traded down $51.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3,791.26. The company had a trading volume of 86,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,012. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,898.57 and a 12-month high of $3,919.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $3,708.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,607.04.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.