29,800 Shares in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 29,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAP. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the first quarter worth about $232,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 21.9% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 16,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 5.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 120.6% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 11,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,399,000 after acquiring an additional 6,338 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 14.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 4.3 %

AAP opened at $77.20 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.26 and its 200-day moving average is $63.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.73 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.32, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.17.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.68% and a net margin of 0.39%. The business 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 business earned $2.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 135.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAP. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.18.

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.