Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.00.

A number of research firms have commented on GPC. Argus reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $122.00 price objective on Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,574,910,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Genuine Parts by 9.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $217,354,000 after purchasing an additional 180,485 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the second quarter worth $201,072,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the second quarter worth $3,903,000. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the second quarter worth $166,471,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 2.5%

GPC stock opened at $127.89 on Friday. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $90.78 and a one year high of $151.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a PE ratio of 511.56, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $131.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 23.00% and a net margin of 0.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,700.00%.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) is a distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts. Its Automotive Parts Group supplies components and accessories for cars, trucks and other vehicles, serving professional repair shops, commercial customers and do-it-yourself consumers through distribution networks, stores and digital channels.

The company’s Industrial Parts Group distributes products used to maintain and repair manufacturing, commercial and other industrial equipment. Its offerings include bearings, power-transmission components, motion-control products, industrial supplies and related maintenance, repair and operations products.