Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 21.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,368,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 239,858 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $189,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 36.1% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 8.5% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 3.6% during the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,042 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.9% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.8% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,437 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

GPC stock opened at $139.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $139.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.46. The company has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.90. Genuine Parts has a 1-year low of $126.35 and a 1-year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 30.03%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GPC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Genuine Parts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.14.

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.