Harvest Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,869 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,707,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $353,436,000 after purchasing an additional 185,913 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,949,000 after buying an additional 1,076,361 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $281,078,000 after buying an additional 431,623 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $235,916,000 after buying an additional 313,438 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,643,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC traded up $1.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $145.19. The company had a trading volume of 916,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,893. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $126.35 and a twelve month high of $170.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,967,677.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total value of $453,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,967,677.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GPC. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.33.

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.