Birch Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Genuine Parts Company $GPC

Birch Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Genuine Parts makes up about 1.1% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,344,000. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 75.2% during the second quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 11.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,430 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 276.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,352,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $399,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461,497 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, EVP Naveen Krishna sold 5,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.12, for a total value of $732,450.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,589.44. This trade represents a 16.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.14.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC opened at $131.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62 and a beta of 0.77. Genuine Parts Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week high of $144.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 22.41%. Genuine Parts’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.91%.

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.