Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Share Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $116.30 and traded as high as $128.12. Genuine Parts shares last traded at $125.7840, with a volume of 830,462 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPC has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $124.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Monday, September 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.86.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.44.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The specialty retailer reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 0.13% and a return on equity of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $6.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Genuine Parts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,700.00%.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the second quarter valued at about $1,574,910,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,901,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $479,711,000 after buying an additional 373,065 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,055,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $217,354,000 after buying an additional 180,485 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Genuine Parts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,072,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,486,088 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $182,729,000 after acquiring an additional 91,088 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Genuine Parts

Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) is a global distributor of automotive replacement parts and industrial components. Founded in 1928 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company serves professional repair businesses, retailers, equipment manufacturers, and other commercial customers through a broad distribution and service network.

In its automotive business, Genuine Parts distributes replacement parts, accessories, tools, and equipment for cars and light trucks. Its operations include the NAPA Auto Parts brand in North America, along with automotive distribution businesses serving customers in Europe and Australasia.