Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Stock Position Cut by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 403,175 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,222 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $441,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,177,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPC. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $163.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $150.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.49. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $174.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

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.