Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. has reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 33.3%, owning only 400 shares after selling 200 in the second quarter, with holdings valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in AutoZone, with Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raising its stake by 7,358.8% during the same period.
• AutoZone's most recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $48.71, which was below the consensus estimate, and revenue of $6.24 billion, slightly under expectations.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 33.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the company's stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company's stock worth $902,929,000 after acquiring an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at about $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 30.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company's stock worth $407,540,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company's stock worth $1,331,870,000 after buying an additional 24,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $4,900.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $4,750.00 target price (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4,850.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE AZO opened at $4,285.90 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $4,100.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,829.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,980.10 and a 12-month high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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