GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 98 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,948.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,024.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,769.99.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $24.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.