Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 13,226 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,226 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.07% of Genuine Parts worth $11,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,621,000 after purchasing an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $39,474,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 29.6% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 980,184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,579,000 after purchasing an additional 223,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on GPC shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $118.43 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

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.