ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,679,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 351,863 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $196,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC opened at $123.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.56. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $104.01 and a 1 year high of $157.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.