Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Holdings Lifted by Lifeworks Advisors LLC

Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,141 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position 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 worth $287,405,000 after buying an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after buying an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. 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 Genuine Parts 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the subject of several research reports. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $127.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.10. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.