Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $119.14, but opened at $116.00. Genuine Parts shares last traded at $117.22, with a volume of 189,196 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPC. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 target price (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.00.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $391,604,000 after buying an additional 65,783 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,889,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,428,000 after buying an additional 145,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,502,852 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $292,233,000 after acquiring an additional 445,259 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.