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

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 122 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole acquired 36 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,757.10 per share, with a total value of $99,255.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 36 shares in the company, valued at $99,255.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,420.00 to $3,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,278.00 to $3,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,024.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,112.71.

AutoZone Trading Down 2.1 %

AutoZone stock traded down $67.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $3,110.42. The company had a trading volume of 148,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,650. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,375.35 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2,908.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,930.15. The stock has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $34.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.