South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 47.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 190.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 508.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 264.6% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 689 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 594.2% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TheStreet raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,008.91. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Carla Jean Bailo purchased 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $81.19 per share, with a total value of $25,168.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at $470,008.91. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brent Windom purchased 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

NYSE AAP opened at $74.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $127.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.23.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. Advance Auto Parts’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.14%.

Advance Auto Parts Company 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.