Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New $41,000 Investment in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 1.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,998,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,268,000 after buying an additional 40,669 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,533,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,522,000 after purchasing an additional 615,674 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,234,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,014,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,336,000 after purchasing an additional 32,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 337.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 811,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,540,000 after purchasing an additional 626,294 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAP. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.54.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 0.7 %

AAP stock opened at $41.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.00 and its 200 day moving average is $66.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.51 and a 1-year high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 144.93%.

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.