Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $61.16 Million Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 2,662.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,293,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,246,384 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 2.16% of Advance Auto Parts worth $61,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 207.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 29.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP opened at $36.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 50.62, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.00. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.08 and a 1 year high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is presently -17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

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.