Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Raises Stake in Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Genuine Parts (NYSE:GPC) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,190 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Genuine Parts were worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $84,128,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Genuine Parts in the 4th quarter worth $57,407,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,844,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,103,300,000 after acquiring an additional 401,180 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 1,038.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 277,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,400 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Genuine Parts by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 391,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,708,000 after acquiring an additional 191,272 shares during the period. 78.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Genuine Parts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Genuine Parts from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Genuine Parts in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.63.

Insider Transactions at Genuine Parts

In other news, Director Wendy B. Needham sold 1,608 shares of Genuine Parts stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.78, for a total transaction of $194,214.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,357 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Genuine Parts Stock Performance

Shares of GPC opened at $123.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.76. Genuine Parts has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $164.45.

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

Genuine Parts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Genuine Parts’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Genuine Parts’s payout ratio is presently 63.68%.

Genuine Parts 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.