AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target Raised to $4,025.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,646.62.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,620.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,636.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,365.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,229.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares in 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.