Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07, RTT News reports. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Genuine Parts updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-9.950 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.80-9.90 EPS.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.3 %

GPC stock opened at $162.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.30 and its 200-day moving average is $142.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPC. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 19,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,928 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,448,000 after buying an additional 4,372 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 78,951 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,949,000 after buying an additional 30,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 195.1% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,408,000 after buying an additional 75,591 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.