Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 239 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 239,970 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $442,530,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 65,368 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 57,849 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in AutoZone by 4,484.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,917,000 after purchasing an additional 26,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,775.00, for a total value of $1,132,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,400. The trade was a 41.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,533 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,020.88, for a total value of $10,184,889.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,148.40. This trade represents a 97.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,710.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $61.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4,121.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,882.65. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,980.10 and a one year high of $4,388.11.

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 company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 60.49% and a net margin of 13.19%.AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $51.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 8th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. 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 note on Thursday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,155.00 to $4,811.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,200.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,544.68.

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.