Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $139.57.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Activity

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,511,000 after buying an additional 30,354 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $287,405,000 after acquiring an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after acquiring an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $115.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.95. 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 has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.00.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $6 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

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.