18,315 Shares in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd invested $718,000 in Advance Auto Parts, acquiring 18,315 shares during the first quarter.
• Advance Auto Parts has faced mixed analyst ratings; while Mizuho raised its target price, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell."
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.00 with a yield of 1.70%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 18,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $262,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $347,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $577,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock traded down $0.90 on Wednesday, hitting $55.84. 1,798,253 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,544,181. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.71. 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 $70.00. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.51 and a beta of 1.04.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a negative net margin of 3.74% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Advance Auto Parts's revenue was down 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is presently -17.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,183.52. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAP shares. Redburn Partners raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.53.

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.