Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up approximately 0.9% of Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $57,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 67 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 58 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total value of $324,173.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,102,665. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,447 shares of company stock valued at $34,179,923. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,342.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,659.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,783.07. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $28.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.