Cerity Partners LLC Buys 8,804 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 122.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,015 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,804 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 2,662.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,293,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,384 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at $34,586,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 244.7% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 740,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,006,000 after buying an additional 525,504 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,270,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,681,000 after buying an additional 362,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,403,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,348,000 after buying an additional 327,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advance Auto Parts news, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,021.59. The trade was a 0.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAP. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $31.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.08. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $79.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is currently -17.86%.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.