B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,141,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG owned 0.05% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 257.3% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 257 shares of the company's stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in AutoZone by 7.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 9,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,566,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boulder Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,782,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,200.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.9 %

AZO traded down $60.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,106.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 106,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,510.00 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $3,113.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,026.55.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.