GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $975,000 in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 9 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AZO shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,600.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Truist Financial set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AutoZone from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,000.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,900.00 to $3,637.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,029.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,100.00, for a total transaction of $4,510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,367,100. The trade was a 76.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian Hannasch purchased 165 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2,987.00 per share, with a total value of $492,855.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,641,153. The trade was a 15.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AZO opened at $3,077.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.33. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,902.20 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3,061.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,344.23.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 26th. The company reported $38.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $36.22 by $1.85. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 80.35% and a net margin of 12.40%.The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $35.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 150.39 EPS for the current year.

AutoZone declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do?it?yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.