Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $173.10.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 10.7% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,026,000 after buying an additional 4,047 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 227,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:GPC opened at $154.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.61.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.