Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 46.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,893 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,214,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,685,541 shares of the company's stock worth $316,160,000 after buying an additional 1,706,328 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,055,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 2,585.1% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,353,912 shares of the company's stock worth $64,026,000 after buying an additional 1,303,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 2,662.0% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,293,205 shares of the company's stock worth $61,156,000 after buying an additional 1,246,384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAP has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Advance Auto Parts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.53.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE AAP traded up $1.03 on Thursday, reaching $59.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,104,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,588,053. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.12 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $64.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.21.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.76% and a negative net margin of 3.74%. The company had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,183.52. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.