Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 9,355 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $7,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $458,947,000 after purchasing an additional 32,858 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,428,000 after purchasing an additional 145,960 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $287,405,000 after buying an additional 25,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after buying an additional 114,180 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock opened at $123.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.03. 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 has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GPC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of 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. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

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.