Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 150,604 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 97.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,622 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150,604 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $14,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 198.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAP. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE AAP opened at $37.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.09. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a one year low of $33.08 and a one year high of $88.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 51.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.86%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Profile

Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts.