Seizert Capital Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,257 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,656 shares during the quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,442.61.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,485.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,345.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,221.36. The company has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,563.57.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.