Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 16,407 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,129 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,407 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter worth about $7,916,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 26.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 185,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,745,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth about $17,477,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 31.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 233,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,740,000 after purchasing an additional 55,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth about $3,304,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP stock opened at $37.69 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.63 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.02 and its 200 day moving average is $54.11. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.82) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAP shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday. 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 note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.14.

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.