Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $108.96 and last traded at $109.59, with a volume of 124346 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $116.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPC shares. Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.82.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,068 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 57,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,053,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.