Genuine Parts Company $GPC Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 441 shares during the period. Genuine Parts accounts for about 1.2% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $5,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 11.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,344,000. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,430 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 276.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,352,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $399,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461,497 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Naveen Krishna sold 5,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.12, for a total value of $732,450.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,589.44. This represents a 16.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $131.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Genuine Parts Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.01 and a fifty-two week high of $144.21. The stock has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.00.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts Company will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 70.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Genuine Parts from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Genuine Parts from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.86.

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.