AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $19,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the second quarter worth about $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp raised its holdings in AutoZone by 166.7% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AZO. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 over the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $2,985.54 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,277.88 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3,005.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,761.20.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $24.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.