Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Purchased by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,509 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $2,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $206,645,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $84,128,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at $57,407,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,400 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on GPC. Evercore ISI reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPC opened at $119.27 on Tuesday. 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released 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. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts 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.