Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,841 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,841 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 65.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,909 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.0% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 17.3% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,062.6% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 17,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 16,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westhampton Capital LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 8.3% during the third quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC now owns 6,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE GPC opened at $122.03 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the 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 $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

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.