AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Given New $4,100.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its price target upped by analysts at Guggenheim from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.25% from the company’s current price.

AZO has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm raised their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,054.52.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,685.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,697.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,462.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. Analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoZone

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in AutoZone by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,647,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in AutoZone by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,718,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.