UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 4,390 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,390 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $84,128,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $57,407,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 253,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Genuine Parts by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock opened at $118.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.00.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its 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. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 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 is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.