Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 260,636 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 260,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,556,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in AutoZone by 542.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 3.9 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,825.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3,472.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,273.98. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,860.85. The company has a market capitalization of $64.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.