Empirical Finance LLC Raises Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,707,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $353,436,000 after purchasing an additional 185,913 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Genuine Parts by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $281,078,000 after purchasing an additional 431,623 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,643,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Genuine Parts by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,081,344 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $149,766,000 after purchasing an additional 129,472 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Genuine Parts by 15,175.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 713,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,758,000 after purchasing an additional 708,388 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPC. UBS Group reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:GPC traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $138.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,016,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,496. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $169.04. The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.77 and a 200 day moving average of $146.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results 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. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

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.