Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc., purchasing 430 shares valued at approximately $1.64 million during the first quarter.
• A significant portion of AutoZone's stock, about 92.74%, is owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $4,101.29 for AutoZone shares, with several firms including Evercore ISI and DA Davidson raising their price targets significantly.

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,759,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,709,967,000 after buying an additional 13,643 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 936,401 shares of the company's stock worth $3,570,296,000 after buying an additional 65,368 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in AutoZone by 7.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 349,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,331,870,000 after purchasing an additional 24,701 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in AutoZone by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after purchasing an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $4,135.00 target price on shares of AutoZone and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,148.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,250 shares of company stock worth $116,321,123 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $16.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4,216.31. 92,444 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,411. The company has a market cap of $70.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $3,929.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,744.98. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,898.57 and a twelve month high of $4,248.14.

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.