Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 1,246,384 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 2,662.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,293,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,246,384 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $61,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 198.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE AAP opened at $36.95 on Thursday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.08 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.46 and a 200-day moving average of $42.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 50.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 14,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,021.59. The trade was a 0.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAP shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.13.

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.