Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Acquires 7,488 Shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 288,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,488 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL owned 0.21% of Genuine Parts worth $33,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 2.7% in the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC increased its position in Genuine Parts by 1.2% in the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 7,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Genuine Parts by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 18,715 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Genuine Parts by 2.8% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Northcoast Research lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Atlantic raised Genuine Parts to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In related news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 11,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,698.46. This represents a 12.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Genuine Parts stock opened at $122.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.94. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $112.74 and a fifty-two week high of $164.45.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Genuine Parts had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 3.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Genuine Parts will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 63.68%.

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.