Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Short Interest Down 5.6% in May

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the May 15th total of 2,150,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 981,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Genuine Parts presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.33.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPC opened at $139.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.32. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $170.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 30.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Genuine Parts

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 4.3% during the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 5,573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,478 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 3rd quarter worth $1,739,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Genuine Parts by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 892,717 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,890,000 after purchasing an additional 147,674 shares during the last quarter. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.