West Oak Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 29,004.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,395 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,294 shares during the period. Genuine Parts accounts for 1.0% of West Oak Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPC. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 7,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.57.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GPC traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.99. 1,245,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,061,733. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.95.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

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.