Investors Buy Large Volume of Advance Auto Parts Call Options (NYSE:AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 9,998 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,645 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAP has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Advance Auto Parts

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,196,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,046,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,144,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter worth $8,822,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock traded up $2.85 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,373,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,105,726. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Advance Auto Parts has a one year low of $33.08 and a one year high of $86.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -17.86%.

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.