University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Purchases Shares of 28,955 Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Key Points

• The University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased 28,955 shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. for approximately $1,135,000 in the first quarter.
• Advance Auto Parts recently reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.22), beating analysts' estimates, despite a 24.2% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, with a total annualized dividend yield of 1.70%.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 28,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,135,000.

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

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 3.4%

Advance Auto Parts stock traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $53.91. The company had a trading volume of 801,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,708,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.71. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.89 and a 1 year high of $70.00.

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

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is presently -17.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AAP. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $48.00 to $46.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Advance Auto Parts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other Advance Auto Parts news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $45,996.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,876 shares in the company, valued at $479,183.52. This 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.