Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $1.01 Million Stock Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 97.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 939,760 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.5% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,787 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 0.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 59,679 shares of the company's stock worth $3,779,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 7.6% in the second quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,036 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.7% during the third quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 7.2 %

NYSE:AAP traded up $3.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $48.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,233,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,054. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.59 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.71. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.60 and a beta of 1.21.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business's revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.82) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently 136.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAP shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.64.

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.