Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 22,932 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 46.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,886 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $84,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 50.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 33.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO traded down $35.44 on Thursday, hitting $3,161.11. 54,383 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,138. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,134.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,009.12. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,375.35 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $54.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AZO. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.