Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $1.68 Million Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPC shares. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GPC opened at $159.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.14. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $174.91. The company has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.59%.

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.