Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Position Reduced by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 415 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 122.2% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.39. 3,396,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,966. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $126.35 and a twelve month high of $174.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.