Wedbush Lowers AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $3,200.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Wedbush from $3,400.00 to $3,200.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wedbush’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 15.21% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on AutoZone from $3,150.00 to $3,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,066.53.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,777.54 on Wednesday. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,015.95 and a 200-day moving average of $2,826.45.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $34.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in AutoZone by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,572,000 after buying an additional 5,650 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in AutoZone by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $678,350,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 259,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,309,000 after acquiring an additional 11,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.