StockNews.com Lowers Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GPC. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $167.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Genuine Parts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $167.13.

Genuine Parts Stock Down 2.6 %

Genuine Parts stock opened at $140.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Genuine Parts has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $168.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.24.

Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty retailer reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. Genuine Parts had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 30.92%. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Genuine Parts will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Genuine Parts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is currently 44.59%.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.29, for a total transaction of $453,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,967,677.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Genuine Parts

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts during the second quarter worth approximately $278,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 6.9% in the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106,967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 28.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,222,000. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts by 7.4% in the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 12,613 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.