Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Takes $567,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $567,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,825.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,472.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,273.98. The company has a market cap of $64.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,860.85.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Argus cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

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.