AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AZO. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,841.00 to $3,995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,821.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,746.18 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,636.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,389.32. The company has a market cap of $62.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.