Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 229,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,867,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.38% of Advance Auto Parts as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAP shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.32. 2,917,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,221,899. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.89 and a 1 year high of $79.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.07. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $39.20 and its 200 day moving average is $41.33.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.86%.

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.