AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Stake Reduced by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 65.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,497 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,711,912,000 after purchasing an additional 26,544 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 371,123.0% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,724,000 after buying an additional 935,230 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 714,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,870,000 after buying an additional 11,088 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter worth approximately $981,202,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 166,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,763,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,490.55 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3,654.14 and its 200-day moving average is $3,794.52. The company has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 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.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $16,102,665. This represents a 4.87% 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, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $21,867,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,447 shares of company stock worth $34,179,923. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on AutoZone from $4,650.00 to $4,526.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,312.13.

About AutoZone

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.