AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Raised to "Neutral" at The Goldman Sachs Group

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $3,811.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $3,044.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 4.30% from the company's current price.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,724.00.

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AutoZone Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE AZO traded down $172.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3,654.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 209,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,730. The stock has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,531.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,301.82. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for 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, equities analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th 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. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.