American Century Companies Inc. Sells 108,788 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 804,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108,788 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.35% of Advance Auto Parts worth $38,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAP. Goodman Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 302,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,305,000 after acquiring an additional 67,116 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 7,623 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,087,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2,662.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. acquired 14,640 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.15 per share, for a total transaction of $499,956.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,163,490.50. This trade represents a 75.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shane M. Okelly bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.79 per share, with a total value of $55,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,021.59. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.13.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP opened at $40.36 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.62 and a 200 day moving average of $41.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.29, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.08 and a 52-week high of $86.47.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently -17.86%.

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.