Genuine Parts’ (GPC) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $170.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $140.00. Wedbush also issued estimates for Genuine Parts’ Q3 2024 earnings at $2.64 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $9.88 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.73 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.83 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $11.33 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.3 %

GPC opened at $162.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.85 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. 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. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 497.0% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 12,035 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after buying an additional 10,019 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter worth $202,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,656 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,062 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 1st quarter worth $390,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.