Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth $42,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GPC. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Genuine Parts stock traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $161.76. 407,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,981. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.62. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $126.35 and a 1 year high of $174.91. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.94. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 44.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.