Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,260 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.14% of AutoZone worth $89,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,740.00 to $4,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,731.77. 29,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,265. 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 cap of $62.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $3,702.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,582.14.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $36.69 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jamere Jackson sold 2,612 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,728.05, for a total value of $9,737,666.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,877.35. This trade represents a 85.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,862 shares of company stock valued at $114,431,089 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

About AutoZone

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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