National Pension Service Reduces Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

National Pension Service cut its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,307 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Genuine Parts worth $25,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,511,000 after purchasing an additional 30,354 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $287,405,000 after purchasing an additional 25,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of GPC opened at $125.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $118.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.58. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GPC shares. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

Genuine Parts Company distributes automotive replacement parts, and industrial parts and materials. It operates in two segments: Automotive Parts Group and Industrial Parts Group segments. The company distributes automotive replacement parts for hybrid and electric vehicles, trucks, SUVs, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, farm vehicles, small engines, farm equipment, marine equipment, and heavy duty equipment; and equipment and parts used by repair shops, service stations, fleet operators, automobile and truck dealers, leasing companies, bus and truck lines, mass merchandisers, farms, and individuals.