West Oak Capital LLC Grows Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 29,004.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,395 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 29,294 shares during the quarter. Genuine Parts makes up about 1.0% of West Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPC. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.7% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 7,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.9% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 2.8% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Genuine Parts

In other Genuine Parts news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of GPC stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.99. 1,245,007 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,061,733. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $120.89 and its 200-day moving average is $131.29. The company has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

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.