Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,143 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Genuine Parts by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,881 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,894,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GPC shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eight 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $117.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.93. 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 has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.35.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.