Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $374,000 Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 183,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,636,000 after purchasing an additional 6,358 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $31,000. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 3,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $129.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.89. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 0.93. 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 results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on GPC shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.