Morgan Stanley Increases AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $2,725.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $2,600.00 to $2,725.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AZO. UBS Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,260.00 to $2,540.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoZone from $2,550.00 to $2,660.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a buy rating and set a $2,450.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, September 22nd. Argus lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,210.00 to $2,330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on AutoZone to $2,800.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $2,597.88.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $2,355.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,452.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,308.21. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $1,703.32 and a 1 year high of $2,610.05.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 6th. The company reported $27.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $24.82 by $2.63. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 69.45% and a net margin of 14.57%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $25.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone will post 124.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,479.29, for a total value of $2,975,148.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,421,302. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Albert Saltiel sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,450.00, for a total transaction of $3,675,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William C. Rhodes III sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,479.29, for a total value of $2,975,148.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,800 shares in the company, valued at $9,421,302. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,286 shares of company stock worth $22,691,045. 2.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Belmont Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in AutoZone by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 11 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.12% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

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AutoZone, Inc engages in the retail and distribution of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The firm offers ALLDATA, which produces, sells, and maintains diagnostic and repair information software used in the automotive repair industry and E-commerce, which includes direct sales to customers.