Sapient Capital LLC Invests $16.70 Million in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 119,738 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $16,697,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 35.9% during the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 475,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,221 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts during the third quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.4% in the third quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GPC. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.41. 670,520 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,451. 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 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $174.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.28. The stock has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.94.

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 firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. Genuine Parts’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

About Genuine Parts

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.