AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) PT Lowered to $3,500.00 at Citigroup

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $3,787.00 to $3,500.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AZO. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $2,600.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, September 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $3,169.38.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,196.61 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,375.35 and a fifty-two week high of $3,256.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,116.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,011.32. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.60% and a negative return on equity of 54.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 151.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in AutoZone by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,596,000 after purchasing an additional 6,226 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after acquiring an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,780,000 after acquiring an additional 58,989 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 212,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,296,000 after acquiring an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in AutoZone by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 203,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,641,000 after purchasing an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.