Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.61 Million Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 15.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 68,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,407 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 127,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,112,000 after purchasing an additional 30,243 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 33,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 6.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 677,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,872,000 after buying an additional 39,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 22.1% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after buying an additional 12,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

Shares of AAP stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.60. 60,948 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,738,343. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.73 and a 1 year high of $127.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.72, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.45 and its 200 day moving average is $65.68.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.68% and a net margin of 0.39%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Brent Windom purchased 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Herman L. Word, Jr. sold 1,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.08, for a total value of $159,936.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,363.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brent Windom acquired 4,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.34 per share, for a total transaction of $401,098.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.56.

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.