First Financial Corp IN Makes New Investment in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 377 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GPC opened at $116.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $164.45. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued 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 3.43%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 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.