Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Stake Boosted by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 7,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.8% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPC. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $122.03 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.30. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.48%.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Genuine Parts 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.