First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPC. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 71.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $373,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,361 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 23.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,916,000 after purchasing an additional 313,438 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,597,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $230,687,000 after purchasing an additional 31,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,491,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $215,404,000 after purchasing an additional 61,764 shares in the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GPC shares. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $157.41 on Monday. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $174.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

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.