AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 177 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,008,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 21,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,784,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 44.9% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZO. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,400.32.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,268.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,510.00 and a one year high of $3,416.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,187.85 and a 200 day moving average of $3,114.26.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $32.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS 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.