Vanguard Group Inc. Has $256.69 Million Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,546,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96,893 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.94% of Advance Auto Parts worth $256,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 193.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 464,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,947,000 after acquiring an additional 306,024 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,728,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,016,000 after acquiring an additional 297,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $405,000. 88.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advance Auto Parts

In other news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,876 shares in the company, valued at $479,183.52. This trade represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAP. Citigroup set a $60.00 target price on Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Roth Capital set a $50.00 target price on Advance Auto Parts and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.01.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AAP opened at $56.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.90 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.24 and a 200-day moving average of $44.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.89 and a fifty-two week high of $70.00.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.97% and a negative net margin of 4.37%. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -15.70%.

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.