Insider Selling: Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) EVP Sells 1,276 Shares of Stock

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,192,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,525. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.62 and a beta of 1.21.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.82%. The company's revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.82) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is 136.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AAP. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAP. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,241.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 98.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 769 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 60.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.

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