Ninety One UK Ltd Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,105,000. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.10% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in AutoZone by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock worth $13,647,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,383,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AutoZone stock traded down $26.32 on Friday, reaching $3,702.16. 105,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,764. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,894.02 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,704.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,561.04.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,460,434.78. This trade represents a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZO. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,087.00.

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.