Sovran Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 7,500 Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,684,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 212.4% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 31,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 21,320 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter valued at about $579,000. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,196,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP opened at $47.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.06, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.59 and a twelve month high of $88.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AAP shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.93.

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.