Synovus Financial Corp Sells 203,024 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 203,024 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp owned 0.14% of Genuine Parts worth $22,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,840,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $257,124,000 after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $57,407,000. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $115.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.22. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $104.01 and a one year high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The business 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.