Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $2.17 Million Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. $AAP

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 9.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 4,960 shares to bring its total to 55,267 shares worth approximately $2.17 million.
• Advance Auto Parts recently received improved ratings from several analysts, with target prices ranging from $45.00 to $65.00 and an average consensus target of $51.78.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share to be paid on October 24th, representing a 1.7% yield based on recent share prices.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,267 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,960 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Advance Auto Parts worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Advance Auto Parts by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 7,822 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 5,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 7.1% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 189.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advance Auto Parts news, SVP Jason Hand sold 948 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $45,996.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $479,183.52. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $52.03.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Shares of AAP stock traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.10. 1,520,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,345,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.89 and a 52 week high of $70.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.59 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.18 and its 200-day moving average is $46.41.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a negative return on equity of 1.97% and a negative net margin of 4.37%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Advance Auto Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Advance Auto Parts's payout ratio is currently -15.70%.

About Advance Auto Parts

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.