Fmr LLC Cuts Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

FMR LLC trimmed its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,438,545 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,737,689 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 4.08% of Advance Auto Parts worth $115,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,737,021.59. This trade represents a 0.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of AAP stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.79. 1,617,625 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,220,703. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 43.55, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.07. 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 1 year low of $28.89 and a 1 year high of $79.41. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.09.

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 3.15%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is presently -17.86%.

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.