MMCAP International Inc. SPC Sells 17,660 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

MMCAP International Inc. SPC decreased its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 50.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 17,660 shares during the quarter. MMCAP International Inc. SPC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 363,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,831,000 after purchasing an additional 150,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 501,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,590,000 after purchasing an additional 144,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $123.22 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.