Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 365 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 207.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $26,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 56.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. City State Bank acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AAP opened at $46.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.11 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.50 and its 200 day moving average is $47.50. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.59 and a 12-month high of $88.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.54 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, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently 136.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.73.

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.