Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.03

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 1.03 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00.

Genuine Parts has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 69 years. Genuine Parts has a payout ratio of 43.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Genuine Parts to earn $8.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.8%.

Genuine Parts Price Performance

GPC stock opened at $121.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.34. Genuine Parts has a 1 year low of $112.74 and a 1 year high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 27.23%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Genuine Parts will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,698.46. The trade was a 12.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $162.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Genuine Parts from $145.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Genuine Parts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.50.

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.