Argent Advisors Inc. Sells 411 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Argent Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the 4th 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 holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $123.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.16. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 period last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 63.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPC. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has a consensus 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.