Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.03

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 1.03 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00.

Genuine Parts has increased its dividend by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Genuine Parts has a payout ratio of 43.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Genuine Parts to earn $8.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.5%.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.2 %

GPC stock opened at $124.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $118.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.48. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GPC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.50.

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.