Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Lowers Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,326 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Genuine Parts worth $15,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,362,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $391,604,000 after acquiring an additional 65,783 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 145,960 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,645,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.6 %

GPC stock opened at $116.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.45. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm 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 last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 63.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.88.

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.