Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA significantly increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. by 487.0% during the second quarter, now holding approximately 20,253 shares valued at $75.18 million.
• Recent trading by company insiders showed VP Richard Craig Smith and VP John Scott Murphy sold large quantities of AutoZone shares, resulting in notable decreases of 50.63% and 69.69% in their respective positions.
• AutoZone reported a quarterly EPS of $48.71, missing the consensus estimate, while the company's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $4,538.21.

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 487.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,253 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,803 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises approximately 1.5% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned 0.12% of AutoZone worth $75,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 66.7% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. This trade represents a 69.69% 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

AutoZone stock opened at $4,271.60 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $4,090.04 and its 200-day moving average is $3,826.15. The company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $51.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AZO. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,504.00 to $4,499.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial decreased 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. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $4,750.00 target price (down from $4,800.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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