Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07, RTT News reports. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Genuine Parts updated its FY 2024 guidance to 9.800-9.950 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $9.80-9.90 EPS.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $162.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 16,507.5% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,611,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $261,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,384,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the first quarter valued at approximately $124,130,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 239.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 774,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $129,615,000 after acquiring an additional 546,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,088,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,153,442,000 after acquiring an additional 481,039 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% 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.