BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $26.93 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,055 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $26,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Conning Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 98 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 14.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 4.1% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. This represents a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,099.38 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,111.05 and a 200-day moving average of $3,029.01.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim lifted 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. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Company 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.