Fiera Capital Corp Cuts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fiera Capital Corp lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 472,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,022 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 3.8% of Fiera Capital Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 2.73% of AutoZone worth $1,222,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after acquiring an additional 731,413 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in AutoZone by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176,623 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 259,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,309,000 after purchasing an additional 11,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,433,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO traded up $16.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2,917.50. The company had a trading volume of 166,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,724. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,036.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,818.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,400.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,115.24.

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.