JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) Price Target to $162.00

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $157.00 to $162.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GPC. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush cut their price target on Genuine Parts from $170.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.29.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $143.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.34. Genuine Parts has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $164.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.90.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.59 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Genuine Parts will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Genuine Parts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.59%.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter valued at about $494,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Genuine Parts by 726.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 54,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,582,000 after purchasing an additional 48,122 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Genuine Parts by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the 4th quarter worth $276,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.83% of the company’s stock.

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.