Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Genuine Parts by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,296,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $458,947,000 after buying an additional 32,858 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Genuine Parts by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,743,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,511,000 after buying an additional 30,354 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,057,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $287,405,000 after buying an additional 25,015 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,840,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $257,124,000 after acquiring an additional 114,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $124.87 on Friday. 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 has a 1-year low of $112.74 and a 1-year high of $164.45. The stock has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.88.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush decreased their price objective on 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 cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $164.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.50.

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.