Swiss National Bank Sells 19,400 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 393,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Genuine Parts worth $45,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 59.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 199,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,829,000 after purchasing an additional 74,607 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 7.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 8.7% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 12,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 2.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $122.16 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.30. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45. 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 (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.