TD Cowen Cuts AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) Price Target to $4,250.00

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) had its target price trimmed by TD Cowen from $4,400.00 to $4,250.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price target on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded AutoZone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,363.12 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,658.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,786.15. AutoZone has a 12 month low of $3,210.72 and a 12 month high of $4,388.11. The company has a market capitalization of $55.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.41.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $28.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total value of $324,173.03. Following the sale, the director owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,910,852.36. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael A. George acquired 145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $3,398.13 per share, with a total value of $492,728.85. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,341.58. This trade represents a 34.44% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,447 shares of company stock worth $34,179,923 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth $356,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 7.2% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the second quarter valued at $245,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in AutoZone by 65.4% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 43 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.