Easterly Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 66.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,151 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAP. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 198.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AAP stock traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $39.48. 367,717 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,259,757. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50 day moving average price is $42.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.88. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.08 and a twelve month high of $85.58.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.