Unigestion Holding SA Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Unigestion Holding SA trimmed its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,563 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $18,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates raised its stake in AutoZone by 0.5% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after buying an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,654.02 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,531.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,303.38. The firm has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

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.