The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) to Sell

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) from a buy rating to a sell rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $2,917.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $3,205.00.

AZO has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,225.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on AutoZone from $3,394.00 to $3,341.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,202.71.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,156.01 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,131.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,008.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone has a one year low of $2,375.35 and a one year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $53.31 by ($5.20). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 52.99% and a net margin of 14.40%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $46.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone will post 157.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AZO. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the first quarter valued at $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

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.