ING Groep NV Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 97.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 85 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd 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 period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,107.53 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,112.88 and its 200 day moving average is $3,025.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $46.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

About AutoZone

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.