StockNews.com Lowers Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. 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. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.29.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $143.21 on Wednesday. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.26. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.90.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.15). Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.03% and a net margin of 5.24%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 44.59%.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPC. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,149 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $189,296,000 after buying an additional 239,858 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 980,184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,579,000 after buying an additional 223,712 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 544,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $75,326,000 after buying an additional 13,753 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 49.2% in the second quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 467,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 153,981 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.