Analysts Set AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Price Target at $3,966.76

AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and four have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4,054.52.

Several research firms have issued reports on AZO. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho increased 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 lowered AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.6%

AZO traded down $58.99 on Friday, hitting $3,685.43. The company had a trading volume of 135,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,632. The firm has a market cap of $61.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company's fifty day moving average price is $3,697.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,462.70. AutoZone has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the first quarter valued at about $442,530,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AutoZone

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.