Raiffeisen Bank International AG Has $4.80 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in AutoZone by 5.8%, now holding 1,273 shares valued at approximately $4.80 million.
• A number of research firms have raised their price targets for AutoZone, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. setting a new target of $4,350.00.
• Chairman William C. Rhodes III and CFO Jamere Jackson sold significant shares of AutoZone, with the chairman's transaction decreasing their ownership by 76.29%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lowered its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,273 shares of the company's stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price target (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $69.97 on Wednesday, reaching $4,081.22. The company had a trading volume of 109,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,641. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $3,716.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,628.70. The firm has a market cap of $68.48 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,898.57 and a 52-week high of $4,094.69.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,696,515.78. This represents a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.