Vest Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts Company $GPC

Vest Financial LLC cut its holdings in Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) by 10.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 411,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 48,281 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $57,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,309,178 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,099,776,000 after purchasing an additional 260,787 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,797,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $953,779,000 after buying an additional 73,361 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,511,008 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $424,367,000 after buying an additional 40,970 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 2.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,080,251 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,425,000 after acquiring an additional 70,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the second quarter valued at $211,661,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on GPC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Genuine Parts from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $142.00 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.00.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $131.98 on Wednesday. Genuine Parts Company has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $143.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.15 and its 200-day moving average is $131.64.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.04). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 22.57%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.91%.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) is a global distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and business products with a history dating back to 1928. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates a broad distribution network and retail presence serving repair shops, independent retailers, industrial customers and commercial accounts. Its business model centers on stocking and delivering a wide range of parts and supplies to support aftermarket and maintenance needs across multiple end markets.

Genuine Parts conducts its operations through several well-known operating groups and subsidiaries.