Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Decreases Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after purchasing an additional 580,262 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after purchasing an additional 401,180 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,474,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $38,803,000 after purchasing an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,708,000 after purchasing an additional 191,272 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.3 %

GPC opened at $121.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $118.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.99. The company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts Company Profile

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.