Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases Shares of 20,295 Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,683,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth $10,867,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at $541,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth $34,586,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth $577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,163,490.50. This represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly acquired 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 0.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

NYSE AAP traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,617,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,315. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.07. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.89 and a 52-week high of $79.41.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.