BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,550 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,055 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.05% of AutoZone worth $26,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company's stock worth $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company's stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth about $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company's stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% during 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 during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,202.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $30.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3,099.38. 125,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,836. The firm has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3,111.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,029.01. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

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