Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Sells 2,824 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,534 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,824 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of AutoZone worth $58,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 600.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 7 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,363.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $55.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,658.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,786.15.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $28.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Evercore increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,800.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,312.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Director Michael A. George purchased 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,398.13 per share, for a total transaction of $492,728.85. Following the transaction, the director owned 566 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,341.58. The trade was a 34.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,295.00, for a total value of $823,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,102,665. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,447 shares of company stock worth $34,179,923. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.