New South Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

New South Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,991 shares of the company’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for about 7.1% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $173,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in AutoZone by 1.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,684,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AZO. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity

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

AutoZone Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,173.40 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $53.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,111.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,019.95.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $46.46 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.