Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,909 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $4,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,866 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 151.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 5,934 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. Finally, WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 32,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 target price (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $119.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $120.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.25. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $104.01 and a 52 week high of $149.22. The stock has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.76.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

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.