Stephens Consulting LLC Raises Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 740.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 109.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 138.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 149.0% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, April 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,300,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,214. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.92. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $170.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $148.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.53.

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

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

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.