Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,076 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 14,559 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $8,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 9,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 417.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 156,148 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,626,000 after purchasing an additional 125,980 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in Genuine Parts by 250.8% during the fourth quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 3,834 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,629 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,073,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE GPC opened at $161.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. Genuine Parts’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.59%.

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.