Cacti Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Cacti Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Genuine Parts makes up approximately 0.7% of Cacti Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Cacti Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $9,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew 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 worth $216,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,149 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Genuine Parts by 14,222.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 584,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,621,000 after buying an additional 580,262 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after buying an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,474,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total value of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE GPC traded up $0.88 on Thursday, hitting $117.64. 259,528 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,070,887. The company has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.77 and a 200 day moving average of $132.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Genuine Parts has a twelve month low of $112.74 and a twelve month high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.94 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.48%.

Genuine Parts Company 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.