Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $139.57.

Several research firms recently commented on GPC. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’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 transaction of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 4,809 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 9.8% in the third quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 87,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,264,000 after acquiring an additional 7,845 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 8.2% in the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 261,303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,499,000 after acquiring an additional 19,795 shares during the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 4,265.9% in the third quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,252 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Genuine Parts by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 303,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,417,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.7 %

GPC stock opened at $116.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.84. Genuine Parts has a 52-week low of $112.74 and a 52-week high of $164.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its 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). Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is 51.48%.

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.