Insider Buying: Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Director Buys 310 Shares of Stock

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Director Carla Jean Bailo bought 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $83.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.31. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.73 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $2.88 EPS. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 135.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 113.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAP shares. TheStreet raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.41.

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.