Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Raises Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $373,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 17.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,521,786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,130,000 after buying an additional 367,665 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,916,000 after buying an additional 313,438 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,597,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $230,687,000 after acquiring an additional 31,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,491,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $215,404,000 after acquiring an additional 61,764 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPC. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC traded down $3.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $158.21. 122,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,056,981. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

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.