Arizona State Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 185.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 23,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,360 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 166.6% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 3,190 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,906,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 37,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,433.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Carla Jean Bailo purchased 310 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Carla Jean Bailo purchased 310 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brent Windom purchased 4,700 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AAP opened at $70.08 on Tuesday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.11.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.83). Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $74.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.47.

Advance Auto Parts Company 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.