Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,603 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,306 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 19,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 50,928 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,448,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 63.1% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 78,951 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,949,000 after purchasing an additional 30,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 195.1% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 114,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,408,000 after purchasing an additional 75,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 12.2 %

GPC traded up $17.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $161.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,583,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,748. The company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $174.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $149.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.70% and a return on equity of 31.64%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 42.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price target on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.33.

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.