10,343 Shares in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Acquired by Optimist Retirement Group LLC

Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,000. Genuine Parts comprises about 0.9% of Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPC. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 109.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 184 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Genuine Parts during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $453,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $453,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,250 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.92, for a total value of $503,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,383.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPC shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

NYSE:GPC opened at $140.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.13. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $126.35 and a twelve month high of $170.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.59%.

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.