Sapient Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $8,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 2,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.9% during the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Argus upgraded Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $114.00 target price (down from $133.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC opened at $123.29 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.07 and its 200-day moving average is $120.40. The stock has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $104.01 and a twelve month high of $149.22.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. On average, analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

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.