StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.
Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on AZO. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,027.00 to $3,363.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,375.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of AutoZone from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $2,850.00 to $3,100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,080.72.
AutoZone Stock Performance
NYSE:AZO traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,192.79. 101,249 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,450. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2,902.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,695.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37.
AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone will post 151.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at AutoZone
In other news, COO Thomas B. Newbern sold 7,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,551.62, for a total transaction of $19,902,636.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,427,530.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Thomas B. Newbern sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,551.62, for a total transaction of $19,902,636.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,427,530.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,797 shares of company stock valued at $81,010,974 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 107,977.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,724,500,000 after buying an additional 698,613 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 368.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,242,000 after buying an additional 323,536 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $658,788,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% 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.