Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Decreases Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in AutoZone by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter, owning 74,713 shares valued at approximately $277.35 million.
• Other institutional investors showed mixed activity, with Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increasing its stake by 7,358.8% during the same quarter, while notable sales occurred among company insiders.
• AutoZone's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $48.71, missing analyst estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $6.24 billion and a year-over-year growth of just 0.6%.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. trimmed its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,730 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.45% of AutoZone worth $277,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $902,929,000 after acquiring an additional 239,970 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake 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 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,570,296,000 after acquiring an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 349.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 74,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,190,000 after acquiring an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,540,000 after acquiring an additional 24,933 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $4,244.71 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4,109.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,832.21. The company has a market capitalization of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,980.10 and a 1 year high of $4,388.11.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,800.00 to $4,700.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,250.00 to $4,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $4,538.21.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.