Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 143 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $13,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,780,000 after acquiring an additional 58,989 shares during the last quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its stake in AutoZone by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $879,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $2,600.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,150.00 to $3,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,150.00 to $3,225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,112.71.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole bought 36 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.1 %

AutoZone stock traded down $29.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2,815.00. The stock had a trading volume of 110,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,576. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,375.35 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2,882.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,869.53.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.29 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $34.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.