Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 145 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $540,000. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after buying an additional 7,845 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after buying an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,499,000 after buying an additional 19,795 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $122.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company 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.