Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Bought by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 79,171 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,157 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $9,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $206,645,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,128,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,262,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $380,898,000 after buying an additional 518,851 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at $57,407,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA purchased a new position in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $36,819,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.7 %

GPC stock opened at $112.32 on Thursday. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $104.01 and a 52 week high of $164.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 0.82.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPC shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $114.00 price target (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Northcoast Research cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Genuine Parts from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.88.

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.