Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Trims Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,862 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,933 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $12,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $189,296,000 after purchasing an additional 239,858 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Genuine Parts by 12.3% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,900,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 266.5% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 4,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 26.9% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 36,809 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 7,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE GPC opened at $119.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.95. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.76 and a 200-day moving average of $130.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

About Genuine Parts

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.