Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Boosts Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 26.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,639 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of Advance Auto Parts worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,674 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company's stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE AAP traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.41. 2,127,383 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,478,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.89 and a 1-year high of $67.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.31, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.49.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.81) by $0.59. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $2.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Advance Auto Parts's revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AAP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $35.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $43.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.01.

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.