Choate Investment Advisors Lowers Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Choate Investment Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,974 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 59.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 199,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,829,000 after buying an additional 74,607 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 7.1% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 12,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $122.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.30. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

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.