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Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 22,971 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

AutoZone logo with Retail/Wholesale background

Key Points

  • Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 15%, now holding around 0.77% valued at approximately $495.5 million after selling 22,971 shares in the first quarter.
  • AutoZone reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) in its latest quarter, missing estimates, but achieved a revenue of $4.46 billion, which was above expectations.
  • Multiple analysts have upgraded AutoZone's rating and prices, with Bank of America raising their target to $4,800 and others following suit, indicating strong market confidence in the company's performance and growth potential.
  • Want stock alerts on AutoZone? Get 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for $5. Get My Stock Alerts.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,971 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.77% of AutoZone worth $495,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock worth $3,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in AutoZone by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 105 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AZO

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded down $23.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4,036.97. 93,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,182. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,898.57 and a 1-year high of $4,094.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3,737.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,644.88.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This represents a 50.63% 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, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,862 shares of company stock valued at $126,058,789. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AutoZone

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for AutoZone (NYSE:AZO)

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