Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of Advance Auto Parts at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 113.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, Director Brent Windom acquired 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Brent Windom acquired 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of AAP stock opened at $77.20 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $129.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.88 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently 135.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.18.

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.