Short Interest in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Rises By 5.0%

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the March 15th total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 978,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $261,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at $215,643,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $373,949,000 after buying an additional 1,076,361 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the first quarter valued at about $124,130,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 15,175.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 713,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,758,000 after acquiring an additional 708,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.3 %

GPC opened at $144.07 on Thursday. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The specialty retailer reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.33.

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.