Mechanics Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Mechanics Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,428 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $21,840,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,417,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $118.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.15.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

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.