93,996 Shares in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Purchased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 93,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,737,000. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.16% of Advance Auto Parts as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 245.9% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 469.4% during the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 190.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $77.20 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.17. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.73 and a 1-year high of $129.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.40.

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

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAP. TheStreet upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Herman L. Word, Jr. sold 1,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.08, for a total value of $159,936.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,448 shares in the company, valued at $899,363.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Herman L. Word, Jr. sold 1,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.08, for a total value of $159,936.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,448 shares in the company, valued at $899,363.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brent Windom purchased 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.