Novus Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Novus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,428,000 after purchasing an additional 145,960 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $287,405,000 after buying an additional 25,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GPC. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Eight research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $126.03 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

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.