GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 435,031.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 770,182 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 770,005 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises 0.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,936,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,216,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,030,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,100.00 target price (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4,054.52.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,685.43 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,697.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,462.70. The firm has a market cap of $61.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.