UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Trims Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,071 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired 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 stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.4 %

GPC opened at $118.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.93. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts 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.