Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,416 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 244,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,565,000 after acquiring an additional 22,707 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 18,170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,096 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 165,453 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,358 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,717 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 6,916 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $118.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

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.