AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. trimmed its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in AutoZone by 7,358.8% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 243,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,929,000 after buying an additional 239,970 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter worth $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,296,000 after purchasing an additional 65,368 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 30.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,540,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 7.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,925.00 to $4,800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $4,255.00 to $4,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,916.00 to $4,610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Zacks Research lowered AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,894.00 to $4,090.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,538.21.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $4,285.90 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,980.10 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4,100.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,829.35.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 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 net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. AutoZone’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $51.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total transaction of $11,942,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.