Versor Investments LP Acquires New Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after purchasing an additional 32,858 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,511,000 after purchasing an additional 30,354 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $287,405,000 after purchasing an additional 25,015 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $125.02 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 63.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

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.