Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Acquires New Shares in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAP. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2.0% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 12,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Capital Square LLC increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Advance Auto Parts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $51.78.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

AAP stock opened at $51.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $53.73 and its 200 day moving average is $54.32. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $70.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.18. Advance Auto Parts had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a negative return on equity of 1.97%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -15.90%.

Insider Activity at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, EVP Kristen L. Soler sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $390,762.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,415. This represents a 24.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.