AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Given New $3,800.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target hoisted by TD Cowen from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,384.89.

AutoZone Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,238.52 on Monday. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $2,510.00 and a 12 month high of $3,416.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,167.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,078.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone will post 154.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total value of $4,910,150.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Verde Capital Management acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.