Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on GPC. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $147.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $152.20.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $162.07 on Thursday. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $124.85 and a 12 month high of $187.73. The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.54.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.15. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 32.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be given a $0.95 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 45.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth about $239,384,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter worth about $124,130,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,088,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,153,442,000 after buying an additional 481,039 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Genuine Parts by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 715,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $106,896,000 after buying an additional 368,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Genuine Parts by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,061,113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,079,211,000 after buying an additional 313,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.14% of the company’s stock.

About Genuine Parts

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Genuine Parts Co engages in the distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts. It operates through the following segments: Automotive Parts Group, Industrial Parts Group, and Corporate. The Automotive Parts Group segment distributes replacement parts, other than body parts for substantially all makes and models of automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles.