Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Makes New $822,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 222 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total value of $2,697,847.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,460,434.78. This represents a 64.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock valued at $131,999,089. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $17.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3,664.98. The company had a trading volume of 61,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,348. The stock has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,701.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,570.51. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,894.02 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) 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). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $36.69 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.