Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Reduces Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lessened its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 619 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $206,645,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,128,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,407,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,819,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPC shares. Evercore ISI raised Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price target (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $114.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.62. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $104.01 and a 12-month high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 63.68%.

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.