Willis Investment Counsel Buys 29,695 Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP - Free Report) by 69.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,173 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,695 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.12% of Advance Auto Parts worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 1,543.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 871 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 38.9% in 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 period. 88.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAP. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts to $49.17 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advance Auto Parts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.01.

Advance Auto Parts Price Performance

Advance Auto Parts stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $48.48. 2,099,244 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,126. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $67.03. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.41, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.49.

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

Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. Advance Auto Parts's dividend payout ratio is currently -17.04%.

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.