Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 3,708 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,681 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of Genuine Parts worth $11,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 42.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 13.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 352 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,467 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.7 %

GPC traded down $1.20 on Tuesday, hitting $161.89. The company had a trading volume of 81,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,970. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91. The firm has a market cap of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.49.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

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.