260,636 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 260,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,556,000. Norges Bank owned 1.55% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in AutoZone by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

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Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3,811.66. 36,856 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,895. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,842.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,495.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,285.75.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Research analysts forecast 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.