Norges Bank Invests $834.56 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 260,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,556,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.55% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’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 value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,825.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,860.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,472.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,273.98.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.