Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 9,998 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,645 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock worth $316,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706,328 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,449,554 shares of the company's stock worth $163,129,000 after purchasing an additional 347,587 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,270,897 shares of the company's stock worth $154,681,000 after purchasing an additional 362,239 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,728,289 shares of the company's stock worth $129,016,000 after purchasing an additional 297,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,214,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,380,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,157,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Advance Auto Parts has a fifty-two week low of $33.08 and a fifty-two week high of $86.47. The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.48 and its 200-day moving average is $41.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.86%.

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.