Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Stock Position Reduced by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 5,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPC shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock traded down $1.14 on Friday, reaching $159.93. 1,003,681 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,198,481. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $174.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.