Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 33,071 Shares of Genuine Parts Company $GPC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) by 35.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 33,071 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $6,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $293,471,000. Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth about $193,347,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 7,774.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,234,984 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $151,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,300 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,321,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,782,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPC shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James F. Howe sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.33, for a total transaction of $43,296.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,669,700.37. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $124.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 290.31 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.16 and its 200-day moving average is $115.63. Genuine Parts Company has a 1-year low of $90.78 and a 1-year high of $151.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.02. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 0.24% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 988.37%.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) is a global distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and business products with a history dating back to 1928. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates a broad distribution network and retail presence serving repair shops, independent retailers, industrial customers and commercial accounts. Its business model centers on stocking and delivering a wide range of parts and supplies to support aftermarket and maintenance needs across multiple end markets.

Genuine Parts conducts its operations through several well-known operating groups and subsidiaries.