Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 58,596 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,354 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $6,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPC. West Tower Group LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,342,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 47,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE GPC opened at $118.93 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $112.74 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $120.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.