Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Lowers Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,968 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.26% of AutoZone worth $163,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in AutoZone by 10.7% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,766,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter worth about $263,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 7,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,864,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 241 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $4,100.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,510.00 to $4,318.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,365.35.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.8%

AZO opened at $3,440.41 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3,162.00 and a twelve month high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,838.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,893.49.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $31.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $32.69 by ($1.65). The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 65.38% and a net margin of 12.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $32.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CFO Jamere Jackson acquired 55 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3,413.50 per share, for a total transaction of $187,742.50. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 488 shares in the company, valued at $1,665,788. This trade represents a 12.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at $5,194,570.80. This represents a 69.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,693 shares of company stock worth $23,259,891. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone 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.