KBC Group NV Has $68,000 Stock Position in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 29.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,749 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAP. Dorsal Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 159.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,162,000 after purchasing an additional 768,664 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Advance Auto Parts by 76.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,266,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,197,000 after acquiring an additional 547,696 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the third quarter worth about $17,477,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 115.4% in the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 405,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,683,000 after acquiring an additional 217,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,916,000. Institutional investors own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AAP. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.64.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 5.4 %

Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $40.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.34. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $88.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88 and a beta of 1.17.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.82) EPS. Advance Auto Parts’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Advance Auto Parts’s payout ratio is 136.99%.

Advance Auto Parts 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.