West Paces Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

West Paces Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 37.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter worth approximately $120,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 114,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,746,000 after buying an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,042 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.7 %

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $138.07. 603,057 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,205. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $170.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.55. 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 has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.92.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. 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, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.44.

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.