AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Rating Increased to Neutral at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $3,811.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $3,044.00.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,812.19 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,506.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,290.64. The firm has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,842.82.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.