Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 1,117 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,117 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $189,483,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,500.11 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,540.75 and its 200 day moving average is $3,312.81. The stock has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone 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.