Empowered Funds LLC Takes $8.95 Million Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 189,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,947,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 2.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAP. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,159.96. This trade represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of AAP opened at $45.99 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.24. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.59 and a twelve month high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.82) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.