Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Receives Neutral Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush restated their neutral rating on shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $170.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $140.00. Wedbush also issued estimates for Genuine Parts’ Q3 2024 earnings at $2.64 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $9.88 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.73 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.83 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $11.33 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $163.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a 52 week low of $126.35 and a 52 week high of $174.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.66 and a 200 day moving average of $142.49.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,707,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $353,436,000 after buying an additional 185,913 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 worth $373,949,000 after buying an additional 1,076,361 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,029,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $281,078,000 after buying an additional 431,623 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 23.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,633,941 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $235,916,000 after buying an additional 313,438 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth about $215,643,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.