Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,019,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% during the fourth 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in AutoZone by 5.4% in the fourth 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 grew its position in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $21.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,779.98. The company had a trading volume of 161,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,783. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,654.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,412.84. The firm has a market cap of $63.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,841.00 to $3,995.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,821.91.

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.