William Blair Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 4,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,155 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 244.7% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 740,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,006,000 after buying an additional 525,504 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $14,684,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,403,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,348,000 after acquiring an additional 327,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $9,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:AAP opened at $36.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.08 and a twelve month high of $88.56. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average of $42.00.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 2.71%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AAP shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.13.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. bought 14,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.15 per share, with a total value of $499,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,490.50. The trade was a 75.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Advance Auto Parts 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.