Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 9,998 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the average volume of 6,645 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 564.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 23,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 20,293 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 20.1% in the third quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,144,000. Clearline Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 9.8% during the third quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 445,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,360,000 after acquiring an additional 39,699 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 72.2% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 159,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 66,690 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AAP opened at $40.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.84. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $33.08 and a fifty-two week high of $86.47. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 55.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is -17.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.13.

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.