Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $50,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AutoZone

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,553.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,401.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,244.10. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AZO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Free Report).