Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $335,000 in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company's stock worth $113,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,155 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $17,477,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,684,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 31.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,075,587 shares of the company's stock worth $41,937,000 after acquiring an additional 258,656 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $9,046,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.03. 1,176,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,431,399. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 65.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.73. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.59 and a 1 year 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.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) 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). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.93.

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.