Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $130.86.

GPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 target price (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $540,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,813 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 6,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,140 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 6,326 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $125.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $119.78 and its 200 day moving average is $120.34. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $104.01 and a 12-month high of $149.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.65%.

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.