Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Buys 596 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at about $312,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 3,130 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,159.96. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital upgraded Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.93.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:AAP opened at $46.87 on Wednesday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.05 and its 200 day moving average is $45.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 64.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.82) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.