New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,558 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,452 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Advance Auto Parts worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,258.8% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,140 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $45,996.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,183.52. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAP. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.53.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AAP traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,062,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,066,901. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $70.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 1.04.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative net margin of 3.74% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is currently -17.04%.

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.