Sei Investments Co. Sells 19,699 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Sei Investments Co. cut its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,699 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Genuine Parts worth $12,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 74.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 4,809 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $540,000. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 104,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,198,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter valued at about $21,840,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,417,000 after acquiring an additional 56,776 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Trading Down 1.7 %

GPC opened at $118.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.13 and a 200 day moving average of $124.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on GPC shares. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.63.

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.