AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on AZO. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a 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, March 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $3,089.61.

AutoZone Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,903.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $2,990.34 and its 200 day moving average is $2,748.72.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $24.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 151.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,890 shares of company stock valued at $58,216,693. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 107,977.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,500,000 after buying an additional 698,613 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 368.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,242,000 after buying an additional 323,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $658,788,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 111.4% in 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. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.