Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 1,706,328 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,706,328 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 11.19% of Advance Auto Parts worth $316,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAP. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Annandale Capital LLC boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 109,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,166,000 after acquiring an additional 34,746 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $1,196,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,822,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 305,622 shares of the company's stock worth $14,453,000 after buying an additional 150,604 shares during the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $36.79 per share, for a total transaction of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. The trade was a 75.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

AAP traded up $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $33.26. 1,517,601 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,225,068. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56, 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 $77.49.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is presently -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.