AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Neutral” Rating

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) was upgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $3,811.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $3,044.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.28% from the stock’s previous close.

AZO has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.3 %

AZO stock opened at $3,821.72 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,842.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,495.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,285.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.