Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Makes New $567,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $567,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,326,545,000 after acquiring an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,683.36.

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AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $50.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $3,821.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 208,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,081. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,842.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,483.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,280.69. The stock has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.