116,523 Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP Shares Acquired by Private Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Private Management Group increased its Advance Auto Parts stake by 25.1% in the third quarter, adding 116,523 shares to hold 581,659 shares valued at $22.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: 15 analysts rate the stock Hold, versus three Buy and three Sell ratings, with a consensus price target of $47.50.
• Advance Auto Parts beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.79 vs. $0.77), but revenue fell 1.2% year over year and missed forecasts. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 25.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 581,659 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 116,523 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned 0.96% of Advance Auto Parts worth $22,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAP. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the 2nd quarter valued at $581,909,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the second quarter worth $273,115,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 86.5% during the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,421,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,637,000 after buying an additional 1,122,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 15.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,127,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,243,000 after buying an additional 282,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the second quarter valued at $59,626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AAP shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $58.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, October 26th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $49.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.1%

AAP opened at $46.02 on Tuesday. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.89 and a fifty-two week high of $65.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.36 and a 200-day moving average of $51.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.02.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 0.97%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.98%.

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc is a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories and maintenance products. Its offerings include replacement parts, batteries, tools, fluids and other supplies for a range of vehicles.

The company serves both do-it-yourself customers and professional automotive repair shops through its stores, online channels and network of independent locations. Its retail banners include Advance Auto Parts and Carquest.

Advance Auto Parts traces its roots to 1932, when the business began in Roanoke, Virginia.

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