AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) Stake Lowered by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its position in AutoZone by 79.3% in the first quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 7,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. BTIM Corp. raised its position in AutoZone by 6.9% in the first quarter. BTIM Corp. now owns 15,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 105,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,357,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 2.2% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. raised its position in AutoZone by 5.4% in the first quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 96.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) opened at 511.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $562.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $677.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.62. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $491.13 and a one year high of $818.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 23rd. The company reported $11.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $12.00 by $0.56. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 70.52% and a net margin of 11.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post $44.01 EPS for the current year.

Several research analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Barclays PLC lowered their price target on AutoZone from $870.00 to $710.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $615.62 to $662.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $775.91.

In other AutoZone news, VP William T. Giles sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.10, for a total value of $5,811,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,750,350. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Andrew Mckenna bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $507.00 per share, with a total value of $152,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,601,417. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

Autozone, Inc is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States. The Company operates through the Auto Parts Locations segment. The Auto Parts Locations segment is a retailer and distributor of automotive parts and accessories. As of August 27, 2016, the Company operated through 5,814 locations in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil.

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