Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Shares Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 11.7%, acquiring an additional 70,104 shares, bringing their total holdings to 668,162 shares worth approximately $26.2 million.
• Several institutional investors have also made significant changes to their positions in Advance Auto Parts, with ownership by institutional investors now at 88.75%.
• Advance Auto Parts recently reported a quarterly loss of ($0.22) per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue for the quarter was $2.58 billion despite a 24.2% year-over-year decline.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 668,162 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,104 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 1.12% of Advance Auto Parts worth $26,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 1,258.8% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 69.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advance Auto Parts news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares in the company, valued at $479,183.52. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AAP traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,446,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,377,325. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.08 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $54.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.46. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $70.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 3.74%. Advance Auto Parts's revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic raised Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Advance Auto Parts from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $50.00 price objective on Advance Auto Parts and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.82.

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.