B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $49.33 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 54.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $49,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 371,123.0% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,472,724,000 after purchasing an additional 935,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $981,202,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 277.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 102,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,037,000 after buying an additional 75,382 shares during the period. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1,185.5% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 64,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,126,000 after purchasing an additional 59,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 401.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,247,000 after buying an additional 41,467 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,311.57.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,641.03 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,621.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,819.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, Director Brian Hannasch bought 147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,393.09 per share, for a total transaction of $498,784.23. Following the acquisition, the director owned 962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,264,152.58. The trade was a 18.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of AutoZone 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 owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 347 shares of company stock worth $1,179,256 and have sold 9,447 shares worth $34,179,923. Company 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.