First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,956 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,576 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 4,516 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 51,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,054,000 after buying an additional 8,875 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GPC shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Eight equities 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of GPC stock opened at $122.19 on Tuesday. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.88. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.68%.

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.