GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 198.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,575 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital raised shares of Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.93.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE AAP opened at $46.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.47 and a beta of 1.16. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) 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 company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.82) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.54 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, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.