Swiss National Bank Sells 12,200 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 439,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.31% of Genuine Parts worth $60,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $373,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,361 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Genuine Parts by 17.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,521,786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $345,130,000 after purchasing an additional 367,665 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 23.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $235,916,000 after purchasing an additional 313,438 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,597,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $230,687,000 after purchasing an additional 31,155 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,491,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $215,404,000 after buying an additional 61,764 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $157.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.24. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $174.91. The firm has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.94.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on GPC. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Genuine Parts

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.