Advantage Solutions Inc. $ADV Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its stake in Advantage Solutions by 73.0%, buying an additional 87,801 shares to hold 208,000 shares (about 0.06% of the company) worth roughly $183,000 at quarter-end.
• Other large institutions— including Vanguard, Millennium and Russell—also materially boosted positions, leaving institutional investors with about 49.82% ownership of the company.
• Shares are up ~3.1% and the company has a market cap near $495M, but a negative P/E (-2.16), high debt-to-equity (3.0) and a consensus analyst rating of “Reduce” with a $28.13 target after several recent downgrades.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Advantage Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:ADV - Free Report) by 73.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,801 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI owned approximately 0.06% of Advantage Solutions worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Advantage Solutions by 40.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,675,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,094,000 after purchasing an additional 773,560 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Advantage Solutions by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,973,940 shares of the company's stock worth $3,020,000 after buying an additional 824,239 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Advantage Solutions by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,769,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 68,177 shares during the period. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Advantage Solutions by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,700,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 88,860 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Advantage Solutions by 337.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,134,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 874,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Advantage Solutions Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADV opened at $37.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.92 million, a P/E ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 2.21. Advantage Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.23 and a 1 year high of $53.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ADV shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Advantage Solutions from $62.50 to $37.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $18.75 price target on shares of Advantage Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Advantage Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Advantage Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Advantage Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Advantage Solutions has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $28.13.

Advantage Solutions Profile

Advantage Solutions is a leading sales and marketing agency that provides outsourced solutions to consumer packaged goods companies. The firm's offerings include field sales execution, retail merchandising, in-store and shopper marketing, e-commerce activation and data-driven analytics. By deploying dedicated sales teams alongside proprietary technology, Advantage Solutions helps brands optimize shelf placement, ensure compliance with promotional programs and strengthen consumer engagement.

The company's service portfolio spans field sales and marketing, retail execution, brand ambassador programs, digital and experiential promotions, and shopper insights.

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