Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Buys 10,683 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,683 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned 0.08% of Genuine Parts worth $18,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,707,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $353,436,000 after acquiring an additional 185,913 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $281,078,000 after acquiring an additional 431,623 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $215,643,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,081,344 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $149,766,000 after acquiring an additional 129,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 15,175.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 713,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,758,000 after acquiring an additional 708,388 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $453,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.4 %

GPC stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $142.47. 372,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,021,586. The stock has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $140.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.41.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 30.03%. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.14.

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.