Cacti Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Cacti Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Genuine Parts comprises approximately 0.7% of Cacti Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Cacti Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Genuine Parts worth $9,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after buying an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 183,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,636,000 after acquiring an additional 6,358 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 22.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 221,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,947,000 after purchasing an additional 41,262 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 37.5% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 146,185 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,420,000 after purchasing an additional 39,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 95.4% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,708,000 after buying an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPC. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE GPC traded up $0.88 on Thursday, reaching $117.64. 259,528 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,070,887. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $120.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.49 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.