Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Upgraded by Loop Capital to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Loop Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

GPC has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.50.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $119.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $120.76 and its 200 day moving average is $130.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after purchasing an additional 580,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,474,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after buying an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 21.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $189,296,000 after buying an additional 239,858 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Genuine Parts

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.