Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $144.07, but opened at $155.88. Genuine Parts shares last traded at $158.22, with a volume of 599,456 shares.

The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 5.70%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 42.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GPC. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 41,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 227,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,501,000 after purchasing an additional 12,634 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $1,593,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 15.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 141,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,427,000 after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 240,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,309,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $22.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $150.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.34.

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.