Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 280 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,790 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $7,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Genuine Parts by 333.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 97,531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,388,000 after acquiring an additional 75,054 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 130.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 217,823 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,433,000 after purchasing an additional 123,277 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at about $343,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $115.13 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.09.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 target price (down previously from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.