Royce & Associates LP Acquires 2,000 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPC. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 36.3% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,407,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 114,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 11.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,477,000 after acquiring an additional 5,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $120.60 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.42%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GPC shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

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.