GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $164,000 Investment in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $164,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,361 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,521,786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $345,130,000 after purchasing an additional 367,665 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 valued at $215,404,000 after purchasing an additional 61,764 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $159.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.94. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.98. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $174.91.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GPC shares. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total transaction of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.