Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Position Reduced by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. lowered its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 66.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 197,311 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.07% of Genuine Parts worth $11,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price objective (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital started coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.88.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock opened at $113.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.39. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 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.