M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Genuine Parts in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $127.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.10. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.93.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is 63.68%.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.