KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 47,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,575,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at $84,128,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,407,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $117.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.09 and its 200 day moving average is $124.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.03 dividend. 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 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

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.