Birch Capital Management LLC Sells 6,150 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Birch Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,674 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,150 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.0% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,511,000 after buying an additional 30,354 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $287,405,000 after acquiring an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 valued at $257,124,000 after acquiring an additional 114,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE GPC traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.54. The company had a trading volume of 383,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,455. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.86 and its 200-day moving average is $131.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GPC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts 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.