Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Increases Holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,488 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $33,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Genuine Parts in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GPC. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC stock opened at $122.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.88. Genuine Parts has a one year low of $112.74 and a one year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 25.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.68%.

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.