Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 221,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,262 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Genuine Parts worth $30,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.3% in the second quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 6,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 7,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $115.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.55 and its 200 day moving average is $134.05. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.48%.

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.