Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) by 2,716,800.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 842,239 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 842,208 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Advance Auto Parts were worth $51,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAP. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its position in Advance Auto Parts by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 113.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 2,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Advance Auto Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the company’s stock.

Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.9 %

AAP stock opened at $78.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.57. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.73 and a 52 week high of $129.90. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.17.

Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. Advance Auto Parts’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Advance Auto Parts, Inc. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Advance Auto Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Carla Jean Bailo acquired 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,008.91. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Advance Auto Parts news, Director Brent Windom acquired 4,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.34 per share, with a total value of $401,098.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carla Jean Bailo bought 310 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $81.19 per share, for a total transaction of $25,168.90. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,008.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAP. Barclays increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Advance Auto Parts from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Advance Auto Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.56.

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.