Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.95 Million Stock Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,865 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,754 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Advance Auto Parts worth $10,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 140.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,908,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,409,000 after buying an additional 1,698,155 shares during the period. Dorsal Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 159.7% in the second quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,162,000 after acquiring an additional 768,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 worth $80,197,000 after purchasing an additional 547,696 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the third quarter valued at about $17,477,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,684,000. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Advance Auto Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.40.

Insider Transactions at Advance Auto Parts

In related news, EVP Tammy M. Finley sold 1,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $56,220.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,266 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,159.96. The trade was a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance

AAP opened at $44.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 60.36 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.37. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.59 and a 1 year high of $88.56.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.53). The company had revenue of $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.82% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.82) EPS. Research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post -0.54 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. 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.