Sessa Capital IM L.P. Buys New Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Sessa Capital IM L.P. bought a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 252,308 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $29,459,000. Genuine Parts makes up about 1.1% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 3,494 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of GPC opened at $128.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $104.01 and a one year high of $154.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $117.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.70.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.09. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 67.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPC. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on Genuine Parts from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Genuine Parts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Genuine Parts 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.