Burney Co. Boosts Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,621,000 after buying an additional 580,262 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,474,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $189,296,000 after buying an additional 239,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $118.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.95. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.43.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GPC shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts 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.