Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 183,533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,358 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $25,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPC. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 13,732.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,566,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,149 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after acquiring an additional 580,262 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,474,000. Natixis boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 768.4% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 316,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $49,014,000 after acquiring an additional 279,930 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $189,296,000 after acquiring an additional 239,858 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.57.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of Genuine Parts stock opened at $122.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.05. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $112.74 and a 12 month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

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.