Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,335 Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,707,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $353,436,000 after acquiring an additional 185,913 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $281,078,000 after acquiring an additional 431,623 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,916,000 after acquiring an additional 313,438 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,643,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,261,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $182,070,000 after acquiring an additional 17,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.12. 60,317 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 982,738. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.92. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $170.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPC. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.44.

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.