Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,117 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in AutoZone by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,399 shares of the company's stock worth $10,707,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.1% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at about $2,252,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $40.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $3,700.35. The company had a trading volume of 16,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,917. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,556.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,326.80. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market cap of $62.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,724.00.

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.