720,519 Shares in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Acquired by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 720,519 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $84,128,000. Genuine Parts comprises 2.0% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPC. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.8 %

GPC stock opened at $122.11 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.59 and a 200-day moving average of $126.75. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.