National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 3,633 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,912 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.05% of Genuine Parts worth $8,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GPC shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital began coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $116.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.82. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

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.