AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Given New $3,450.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on AZO. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BNP Paribas raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,216.44.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,192.44 on Tuesday. AutoZone has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,126.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,041.13. The firm has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total transaction of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,208,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 38.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $781,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.