Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,994 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 43,680 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,100,000 after purchasing an additional 11,588 shares during the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 21,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,537,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,000. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,696,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 9,069 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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 target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related 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 directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $120.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.18. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued 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). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.